5 survivors drawn from the rubble of the collapsed Indonesian school, but dozens remain trapped

The rescuers continued to search on Wednesday dozens of missing students suspected of being still buried under the rubble of a collapsed school in the province of Eastern Java, in Indonesia.

The number of deaths after Monday’s incident increased to six, according to Yudhi Bramantyo, Deputy Operations Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Five survivors were successfully rescued after a tunnel was dug at the foot of the building to their location.

“Their conditions were better because they were detected yesterday. They can communicate since yesterday when their bodies have been covered by concrete. We have been able to provide support for food and drink since yesterday,” said Bramantyo.

The Islamic boarding school, which, according to the authorities, underwent unauthorized expansion to add two new floors, collapsed during afternoon prayers on Monday, sending concrete plates and other heavy debris crashing on the students below.

More than 300 workers have continued to work desperately on the scene to try to reach those who were detected to be always alive and trapped below.

“We hope that we will be able to finish this operation soon,” journalists Mohammad Syafii, responsible for the national research and rescue research in Indonesia, to journalists.

“We are currently running against time because it is possible that we can still save lives from those we detected during the golden hours,” he said at the press conference.

In a sign of hope, the rescuers released a living boy on Wednesday afternoon, charging him carefully on a stretcher to be taken to the hospital to be treated there. His condition was not immediately known.

Out of around 100 injured, 26 are still hospitalized and many have undergone head injuries and broken bones, authorities said.

Unstable conditions

Before Wednesday’s rescue, the agency of Syafii said that at least six children were alive under the rubble, but the research was complicated with the concrete slabs and other parts of the remaining building. Heavy equipment is available but is not currently used due to concerns that it could cause additional collapse.

The rescuers have led oxygen, water and food from narrow gaps to those still trapped under the debris to keep them alive. Research teams have also used thermal detectors and drones to detect potential survivors that could be rescued.

The structure fell at the top of the hundreds of people around 2:30 p.m. Monday in a prayer room at the Islamic boarding school in Al Khoziny in Sidoarjo, on the east side of Java in Indonesia.

The students were mainly boys from 7th to 12th year, between 12 and 18 years old.

Students prayed in another part of the building and managed to escape, said the survivors.

The prayer room was two floors, but two others were added without a license, according to the authorities. Police said the Foundation of the Old Building was apparently not able to support two concrete floors and collapsed during the payment process.

The authorities initially declared that only 38 people were missing, but revised this at 91 Tuesday evening after consulting the attendance lists and spoken with the families.

“At the beginning, there will inevitably be a certain confusion on the data,” said Suharanto, head of the national disasters in the country, which only bears the name, as is common in Indonesia.