65 feared trapped, at least 1 dead in Indonesia school building collapse

At least one student was killed and 65 are feared trapped under rubble after an Islamic school building collapsed in Indonesia's East Java province on Monday, September 29, The Associated Press reported.

Rescuers have recovered the body of a 13-year-old boy, and warn that the death toll is likely to rise. Rescue workers, police, and soldiers digging through the night, pulled out eight weak and injured survivors more than eight hours after the collapse.

The incident occurred in the town of Sidoarjo while students were offering their afternoon prayers at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school. The building was undergoing an unauthorised expansion when tragedy struck, reported AP. A local police spokesperson said the old prayer hall was originally only two stories, but had been renovated by adding two more floors without a permit to build a new structure.

So far, 99 injured students, some of them in critical condition, have been admitted to hospitals.

Most of the victims were male, as female students were praying in a separate part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said. Teachers, administrators and residents assisted in evacuating injured students, many of whom suffered head injuries and broken bones.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the building’s collapse.

Rescue measures

Search and rescue officers are continuing to look for victims among the rubble, although their efforts have been hampered by heavy slabs of concrete and unstable debris, said Nanang Sigit, who is leading the effort.

“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 told the publication, adding that rescuers have seen several bodies scattered under the rubble, but are focusing on saving those who are still alive.

Several hundred rescuers equipped with breathing equipment, extrication tools, medical evacuation kits and other support gear continue to search for survivors.

Families gather at hospitals

Families of the students are gathered at hospitals or near the collapsed building, anxiously awaiting news of their children. Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull a dusty, injured student from the buried hall.

(With AP inputs)