Hopes dim for survivors after Indonesia school building collapses

Three days after the devastating structural collapse, Indonesian authorities have used powerful machinery to relocate large sections of a crumbling school, with 59 teenage students still missing.

Officials made the decision to move forward after talking with the families of the missing students’ families and discovering no longer any life beneath the rubble.

Coordinating Minister Pratikno remarked that “we will always be very careful when using the heavy machines,” adding that operations would continue with extreme caution despite the grim state of the situation.

In Sidoarjo, eastern Java, hundreds of people were buried in the collapsed prayer hall at the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School on Monday, leading to a tragedy. Officials claim that the foundation of the two-story building had broken during concrete pouring, and that two unauthorised additional floors had been constructed above the two-story building.

More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, plus more than 20 have been taken to hospitals with serious injuries, including fractures and head trauma, at the moment. The victims ranged in age from seven to twelve, with the majority of them male students. In a different area of the building, female students were able to escape.

Nearly 220 workers continued their efforts at the site with ambulances on standby as the crucial 72-hour window, which significantly reduces survival chances, passed. However, the increasingly grim situation was revealed by the arrival of numerous body bags.

Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, stated that while there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the precise number of missing people, “We are no longer considering the possibility of survivors remaining, but we will continue with caution.” We sincerely hope that these 59 people aren’t hiding beneath the rubble.

Since Monday, hundreds of family members have been observing a daily vigil in the classroom, sleeping in government-provided mattresses in hallways while receiving updates.

Muhammad Abdurrohman Nafis, 15, Muhammad’s ninth-grade son, is missing, according to Hafiah. She recalled how eagerly his favorite satay rice had been eaten during her visit just one day before the collapse, “I can’t give up, I have to believe that my son is still alive, he is hyperactive boy… he is very strong.” Nafis planned to study mechanical engineering in high school as his junior high graduation approached.