A SCHOOL packed with students crumbled without warning, leaving dozens trapped and sparking a frantic rescue operation.
A 13-year-old boy died and at least 99 pupils were injured after the prayer hall at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School collapsed in Indonesia.
EPAA prayer hall at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Indonesia collapsed[/caption]
EPARescuers searching for victims inside of the collapsed building[/caption]
Officials say 65 more students – mostly boys aged 12 to 17 – are still believed to be buried beneath concrete slabs and twisted steel.
The number of dead is expected to rise as rescuers struggle through unstable debris.
Hundreds of rescuers — including disaster response teams, police and soldiers — worked through the night after the building came down during afternoon prayers on Monday afternoon.
They used breathing gear, cutting tools and stretchers to reach survivors while avoiding 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,” said search and rescue officer Nanang Sigit, who is leading the operation.
He said rescuers had seen several bodies but were focusing on saving those still alive.
Rescue teams have been forced to dig by hand and use light tools because the wreckage is dangerously unstable.
Heavy machinery is on standby but mostly avoided for fear it could trigger another collapse.
Efforts were temporarily halted on Tuesday morning when part of the rubble suddenly shifted, sending rescuers and waiting relatives scrambling away.
Ambulances stationed nearby also pulled back as officials warned of another potential cave-in.
Outside the school gates, families gathered in anguish, some waiting at nearby hospitals while others stood before a whiteboard listing missing students.
Video from local television showed crowds praying, weeping and calling out names as rescuers carried injured students — many bloodied and covered in dust — to waiting ambulances.
The two-story prayer hall had been undergoing an unauthorised vertical expansion when it gave way.
Police said two more concrete floors 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,” said provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast.
Students had been performing afternoon prayers when the structure came down.
ReutersA relative of a victim of a collapsed building reacts, after a hall collapsed while students were praying at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java[/caption]
EPARelatives stand in front of a collapsed building as a rescue operation is underway[/caption]
EPAThe hall collapsed while students were performing the afternoon prayer[/caption]
GettyRelatives read the victims names of from a whiteboard[/caption]
Female students in a separate section of the building managed to escape, survivors said, but the male prayer hall was crushed.
“This sudden occurrence caused building material to fall on dozens of students and workers,” disaster agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said.
Local hospitals reported treating students for head wounds, broken bones and crush injuries, with several in critical condition.
Health workers set up emergency triage areas as more victims were pulled from the debris.
Officials said 102 people had been evacuated from the site since Monday evening, but rescuers believe many more remain trapped.
Authorities are now investigating why construction was allowed to continue without safety checks.
The disaster has sparked calls for tighter oversight of school buildings, many of which are privately funded and expanded without proper permits.
Rescue operations are expected to continue through Tuesday and possibly beyond as crews search for survivors under the heavy slabs of concrete.
Officials warned the unstable structure and wet conditions could complicate efforts.
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APThe two-story prayer hall had been undergoing an unauthorised vertical expansion when it collapsed[/caption]
EPAA relative weeps as a rescue operation is underway at the boarding school[/caption]