Rescuers yesterday ran oxygen and water to students trapped in the unstable concrete rubble of a collapsed school building in Indonesia, as they desperately worked to free survivors a day after the structure fell. At least three students were killed, more than 100 were injured and dozens were presumed buried in the rubble.
Rescue workers, police and soldiers digging through the night pulled out eight weak and injured survivors more than eight hours after the collapse at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo.
Rescuers saw additional bodies, indicating the death toll was likely to rise.
Photo: Reuters
Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended at 10:15am as the collapsed concrete shook suddenly. People immediately ran for their lives, fearing another collapse, as rescuers urged everyone in the area to avoid the building, including dozens of ambulances that parked near the scene. The work resumed at about 1:45pm.
The students are mostly boys aged 12 to 18.
Families anxiously awaited news at hospitals or near the collapsed building. A notice posted at the school complex yesterday morning listed 65 students as missing.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari revised the number of people presumed buried in the rubble to 38 by midday.
“Oh my God ... my son is still buried, oh my God please help,” a mother cried hysterically upon seeing her child’s name on the board, followed by the cries of other parents whose relatives had suffered a similar fate.
“Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” cried a father, holding the hand of one of the rescue team members.
Heavy slabs of concrete and other rubble and unstable parts of the building hampered search-and-rescue efforts, said Nanang Sigit, a search-and-rescue officer who was leading the effort.
Heavy equipment was available, but not being used due to concerns that it could cause further collapse.
“We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped under the debris and keeping them alive while we work hard to get them out,” Sigit said.
He added that rescuers saw several bodies under the rubble, but were focused on saving those who were still alive.
Several hundred rescuers were involved in the effort, and had equipment for breathing, extrication, medical evacuation and other support tools.
The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing an unauthorized expansion when it suddenly collapsed on top of them, provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said.
Residents, teachers and administrators assisted injured students, many with head injuries and broken bones. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.
One male student, a 13-year-old boy, was found dead on Monday, and 102 students and teachers were injured and taken to hospitals, some of them in critical condition. By yesterday, 75 students and two teachers were still hospitalized.
Two male students died yesterday from their injuries while being treated at Notopuro General Hospital, hospital director Atok Irawan said.
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