SIDOARJO, Indonesia – Around 91 people are believed to be still trapped under the ruins of a collapsed school on Indonesia’s main island of Java, authorities said as rescue teams searched for survivors.
The multi-story Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo suddenly gave way on Monday as students were gathered for afternoon prayers, according to local reports.
“Based on student attendance data, 91 people are suspected to be buried under building materials,” National Disaster and Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement late Tuesday.
It earlier said three people died and 38 people were still unaccounted for.
Officials said Wednesday they were still trying to confirm the number of missing when asked at a news conference in Sidoarjo.
Rescue teams were focusing on supplying life support to survivors trapped under the rubble, said Emi Freezer, the National Search and Rescue Agency’s head of operations.
They were concentrating on seven areas were signs of life had been detected, he said. AFP
“The main structure has totally collapsed .. We prioritized saving victims who were still responsive.”
Dozens of parents waited Wednesday near the collapsed school building as rescue teams searched for survivors under the rubble.
Qoyyimah, a 42-year-old mother who like many Indonesians goes by one name, was in tears outside the flattened boarding school, desperate for news of her 15-year-son.
“I first heard about the collapse from my relatives who live around here. I was shocked,” said the woman from the nearby island of Madura.
Being away, “I couldn’t do anything,” she told AFP.
“I couldn’t take it anymore, I couldn’t just wait for updates, I was restless and I had to see it for myself,” said Qoyyimah, who arrived on Tuesday, a day after the building collapsed.
“I’m really worried,” she said. AFP
