JAKARTA, Oct 2 (NNN-ANTARA) – The death toll from the collapse of a school building in Indonesia’s East Java province, has risen to five, with 84 people still trapped under the rubble, the regional rescue agency said, yesterday.
“Today (yesterday), we evacuated seven students, five of them alive and two dead,” Nanang Sigit, head of the East Java Search and Rescue Office, said.
He said, the ruins of the building remained unstable, posing serious risks to both rescuers and survivors.
Sigit added that, authorities are assessing whether to use heavy equipment in the operation. “If there are still many survivors, we will not use it. But if no more living victims are found, heavy equipment may be deployed,” he said.
The incident occurred on Monday, at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, in Sidoarjo district, when a building under unauthorised renovation, suddenly collapsed during afternoon prayers, according to the office.
Hundreds of rescuers from various agencies have been deployed to the site.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation.– NNN-ANTARA
