Hopes dim for survivors after Indonesia school building collapses

"Indonesian authorities have deployed heavy machinery to shift massive sections of a collapsed school, with approximately 59 teenage students still unaccounted for, three days after the devastating structural failure. After consulting with families of the missing students and detecting no further signs of life beneath the rubble, officials made the decision to proceed. In any case, we will be very, very careful when using the heavy machines, stated Coordinating Minister Pratikno, emphasising that despite the bleak outlook, operations would continue with extreme caution."

"The catastrophe occurred on Monday when the prayer hall at the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo, eastern Java, collapsed, burying hundreds of people. According to officials, two unauthorised additional floors were under construction above the two-storey building, and the foundation evidently failed during concrete pouring. Currently, five people are confirmed dead, more than 100 are injured, and more than two dozen hospitalised with serious injuries, including head trauma and fractures."

"As the critical 72-hour window when survival chances significantly diminish passed, nearly 220 workers continued their efforts at the site with ambulances on standby. The arrival of numerous body bags, however, indicated the increasingly grim situation. Suharyanto, head of Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, acknowledged, We are no longer considering the possibility of survivors remaining, but we will still proceed with caution, while noting uncertainty about the exact number of missing individuals. We really hope that these 59 people are not there under the rubble."

Heavy machinery has been deployed to move large sections of a collapsed school in Sidoarjo, eastern Java, after the roof and added unauthorized floors failed during concrete pouring. Approximately 59 teenage students remain unaccounted for three days after the collapse of the prayer hall at the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School. Five people are confirmed dead, more than 100 injured, and over two dozen hospitalized with serious injuries including head trauma and fractures. Rescue teams continued work with about 220 personnel and ambulances on standby while officials, after consulting families and finding no signs of life, proceeded cautiously. The arrival of numerous body bags indicated a grim situation.

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