Five rescued as Indonesia races to find more survivors under collapsed school

Sidoarjo, Indonesia: Rescue workers have managed to free five survivors from the ruins of a collapsed Islamic school building in East Java, and are continuing to search for dozens of missing students suspected of still being trapped under the rubble.

The death toll following the incident on Monday has risen to six, according to Yudhi Bramantyo, deputy chief of operations of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency.

The building at the century-old Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, 780 kilometres east of Jakarta, was undergoing unauthorised expansion work when it collapsed, authorities said.

Five survivors were successfully rescued after a tunnel was dug at the base of the building to their location, Bramantyo said.

“Their conditions were better as they were detected yesterday. They can communicate since yesterday while their bodies are covered by concrete. We have been able to provide food and drink support since yesterday”.

The rescue effort was complicated by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck late on Tuesday, which caused the ruins to collapse further. The earthquake struck the region of Sumenep, about 200 kilometres from the school, injuring three people and damaging dozens of homes, authorities said.

“If the space was initially 50 centimetres high, it caved in to 10 centimetres, and we fear it impacts the constriction of the victims,” said rescue agency chief Mohammad Syafii.

“How to hold on to the targets’ lives while still having the same access – that’s going to take us a little longer,” said rescue agency official Emi Frizer, adding that searchers had to be careful not to injure victims’ limbs during their rescue.

Hundreds of people, mostly boys aged between 12 and 18, were inside the prayer hall when it collapsed on Monday, about 2.30pm Indonesian time. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

The two-storey building was having two more floors added without a permit, according to authorities. Police said the foundations were apparently unable to support the two extra floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process.

Most rescues typically happen within 24 hours after such disasters, with chances of survival decreasing each following day. More than 300 workers remain on site trying to reach those who have been detected to be still alive and trapped.

“We hope that we can complete this operation soon,” Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters. “We are currently racing against time because it is possible that we can still save [the] lives of those we have detected within the golden hours.”

Of the approximately 100 injured, more than two dozen are still hospitalised, with many said to have suffered head injuries and broken bones, authorities said.

Before Wednesday’s rescue, Syafii’s agency said at least six children were alive under the rubble, but the search has been complicated by the slabs of concrete and other parts of the building that remain unstable.

Heavy equipment is available but is not currently being used due to concerns they could cause further collapse. Rescuers in hard hats crawled through tight passages made of concrete blocks, steel bars and rubble, chipping away at it with hammers and handheld power tools to try and reach survivors.

Oxygen, water and food have been sent through narrow gaps to those still trapped under the debris to keep them alive. Search teams have also used detectors and thermal drones to detect potential survivors who could be rescued.

Authorities initially said 38 people were missing, but revised that upward on Tuesday after checking attendance lists and speaking to families. Some 59 people are now believed to be under the rubble.

“In the early stages, there will inevitably be some confusion about the data,” said Suharyanto, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, who only goes by one name as is common in Indonesia.

AP

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