Karawang, W Java (Antara) - A fuel truck was caught on fire in Kilometer 51 of Cikampek toll road on Saturday evening (6/1 ) causing a long traffic jam.
The incident occurred at 19:15 of Indonesian Western Time in the lane to Jakarta.
The driver, Suryo (33), said the fire was triggered by rear right tire blow-out.
The fuel truck belongs to Indonesian oil company, PT Pertamina.
After noticing a fire at his tank load, Suryo decided to stop the truck at the emergency lane.
Suryo and a driver assistant were safe after trying to extinguish the fire using a lfire extinguisher and failed.
They asked assistance from local people to help extinguish the fire with water buckets but the fire burned the fuel container to make them to seek safety to avoid explosion.
Three fire engines were deployed to extinguish the fire that burned the container that arrived at 19.45 local time.
The incident has caused a long traffic jam from the area of Kilometer 51 to the Cikampek-Purbaleunyi junction area.
A bus passenger at the location, Adi (30), said his bus was asked to take an emergency u-turn to avoid the heat and fire.
"The toll road was temporarily closed. Some vehicles also turned off the machine. The officers asked nearest vehicles to take a u-turn to avoid fire," Adi said.
The fires reached 15 meters high and caused dark thick smoke.
