Three workers die from suspected gas poisoning in Cipayung culvert

Three construction workers died in East Jakarta on Thursday, suspected of having been poisoned by gas while inside a culvert on Jalan Pintu 3 Keong Mas, Cipayung. Abdul Wahid, Head of Operations for the East Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat), said his team evacuated the three victims from the culvert in Bambu Apus sub-district. The service received a report of the incident at 09:49 WIB from another agency. In response, the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) fire post deployed two rescue units with 12 personnel to the scene, arriving at approximately 09:55 WIB. The rescue operation commenced at 10:00 WIB and concluded at 11:55 WIB. According to information gathered, the incident began when one of the project workers entered the culvert to carry out work. The victim suddenly lost consciousness about halfway down the ladder towards the base of the culvert. Seeing his colleague unconscious, another worker attempted to provide assistance by entering the culvert but also collapsed, presumably after inhaling toxic gas inside the channel. A third worker then entered and also fainted, bringing the total number of victims to three. Fire and rescue personnel conducted the rescue using confined space rescue procedures. Although the evacuation was successfully completed, all three workers were pronounced dead. The exact cause of the suspected toxic gas inside the culvert remains under investigation by the authorities.