Searchers raced Tuesday to rescue at least 38 people still believed trapped a day after the collapse of an Islamic school building in Indonesia that has already left three dead, authorities said.
Tearful families desperate for news of their loved ones crowded around the flattened multi-storey building, as rescuers navigated a maze of concrete rubble in the town of Sidoarjo on Indonesia’s main Island Java.
The building gave way on Monday, where students were gathered for afternoon prayers, said local reports, citing a witness.
“The number of victims is 102 people, consisting of 99 survivors, 3 deaths,” National Search and Rescue Agency head Mohammad Syafii said.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said 38 people were still unaccounted for while 77 injured victims had been evacuated to several hospitals, while.
Syafii said rescuers were working urgently to save those still believed to be trapped, but warned that the rubble was unstable, with concrete pillars piled precariously atop one another.
Heavy equipment such as cranes and excavators could speed up the removal of concrete to ease access, Syafii said.
“However, moving the concrete can actually threaten the lives of survivors who may still be trapped.”
Local media reports quoted a school official as saying the construction work had been ongoing for the past nine months.
Abdul Muhari said Monday that the building collapsed after its foundation pillars failed to support the weight of new construction on the fourth floor of the school.
He called for stricter safety standards and urged the public and building managers to oversee construction processes more carefully to prevent similar incidents.
Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia, where it is common to leave structures — particularly houses — partially completed, allowing owners to add extra floors later when their budgets permit.
Earlier this month, at least three people were killed and dozens injured when a building hosting a prayer recital collapsed in West Java.
In 2018, seven teenagers rehearsing for a musical show were killed in Cirebon, east of Jakarta, when the building they were in collapsed.
That same year, at least 75 people were injured when the mezzanine floor at Indonesia’s stock exchange building in Jakarta collapsed into the lobby.
AFP
