There are no signs of life under the wreckage of a collapsed Indonesian school where 59 people are still missing, rescuers have said. Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the two-storey Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday. At least five students were killed and about 100 injured, officials said.
Thirteen people have been freed from the debris since rescue efforts began, though two later died in hospital. Rescue operations had been challenging due to the unstable structure of the building.
On Thursday, the disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) said rescuers using thermal drones failed to detect signs of life from the rubble. Lt Gen Suharyanto, the head of the BNBP, shared their struggles at a press conference, noting, Last night, we even [cleared] the area to ensure silence... hoping that with the use of sophisticated equipment, we might hear some signs of life.
However, they found no signs after thorough searches. The teams have decided to move to the next phase of operations, involving heavy equipment to shift the concrete slabs, a process initially postponed due to fears of further collapse.
Families anxiously awaited news at the school; many wept but remained hopeful. The BNBP revealed inconsistencies in the number of individuals trapped, attributing this to the chaotic early stages of disaster response. The building, which was under construction to add extra floors, collapsed due to an unstable foundation, leading officials to question compliance with safety permits by the school’s management.
Thirteen people have been freed from the debris since rescue efforts began, though two later died in hospital. Rescue operations had been challenging due to the unstable structure of the building.
On Thursday, the disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) said rescuers using thermal drones failed to detect signs of life from the rubble. Lt Gen Suharyanto, the head of the BNBP, shared their struggles at a press conference, noting, Last night, we even [cleared] the area to ensure silence... hoping that with the use of sophisticated equipment, we might hear some signs of life.
However, they found no signs after thorough searches. The teams have decided to move to the next phase of operations, involving heavy equipment to shift the concrete slabs, a process initially postponed due to fears of further collapse.
Families anxiously awaited news at the school; many wept but remained hopeful. The BNBP revealed inconsistencies in the number of individuals trapped, attributing this to the chaotic early stages of disaster response. The building, which was under construction to add extra floors, collapsed due to an unstable foundation, leading officials to question compliance with safety permits by the school’s management.
