Indonesian rescuers hunt 38 missing after Islamic school collapse kills three, injures nearly 80

Indonesian rescuers were scrambling on Tuesday (Sep 30) to locate 38 people feared trapped under rubble after an Islamic boarding school collapsed in the province of East Java while dozens were at afternoon prayer, disaster mitigation authorities said.

Three people were confirmed dead and 99 others survived Monday's collapse at the Al Khoziny boarding school in Sidoarjo, a town about 780km east of Jakarta, according to Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency.

Earlier on Tuesday, disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said the unstable building collapsed during construction. 

"This sudden occurrence caused building material to fall on dozens of students and workers," he said, adding that nearly 80 injured were taken to hospital.

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The agency said the building's foundations allegedly could not support the weight of construction on its fourth floor.

Abdus Salam Mujib, one of the heads of the boarding school, said that the building had collapsed after workers poured concrete for the third floor of the building.

"The building only had three floors. The plan was to have four floors with a flat roof," he told reporters.

"Upper levels of the building were planned to be used for classrooms and student activities, while the lower floor was already used as a prayer room."

Rescuers ran oxygen and water to students trapped in the unstable concrete rubble of the collapsed school building as they desperately worked to free survivors a day after the structure fell. The three killed were students 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. Rescuers saw additional bodies, indicating the death toll was likely to rise.

Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended at 10.15am local time 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 more than dozens of ambulances parked near the scene. The work resumed around 1.45pm.

The students are mostly boys in grades seven to 11, between ages 12 and 18.

GRIEVING RELATIVES

Families anxiously awaited news at hospitals or near the collapsed building. 

A notice posted at the school complex earlier on Tuesday 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.

Video images from news channel KompasTV showed families of students clustered around a whiteboard looking at a list of survivors.

"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 led 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 CASUALTIES AND INJURIES

The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing unauthorised 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, Muhari said. By Tuesday, 75 students and two teachers were still hospitalised, he said.

On Tuesday, two male students died from their injuries while being treated in Notopuro General Hospital, the hospital director Atok Irawan said. The two were among 11 students who initially were pulled out alive from the rubble by rescuers, he said.

At least one student had to have his arm amputated and two others underwent surgery for head injuries, Irawan said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse. Abast said the old prayer hall was two storeys but two more were being added without a permit.

"The old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process," Abast said.

Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia.

Earlier this month, at least three people were killed and dozens injured after a building hosting a prayer recital collapsed in West Java.

Meanwhile, teenagers rehearsing for a musical show were among seven people killed in Cirebon, east of Jakarta, in 2018 when the building they were in collapsed.

At least 75 people were also injured the same year when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building in Jakarta collapsed into the lobby.