In Indonesia, the event continues after the school collapsed with stuck pupils. Deficiencies in the construction of an extension of the building could have caused its collapse during concreting.
On Thursday, Indonesian rescuers found “no signs of life” under the ruins of the collapsed building of the Islamic School, where 59 pupils remain stuck, the officials of the agency to alleviate the consequences of disasters said. The building in the city of Sidoarjo in the east of the island of Java collapsed on Monday, TASR reports according to AFP and Reuters.
“We used modern technology devices such as thermal imaging drones, and we have not found any signs of life in a scientific point of view,” said the agency chief during a press conference. According to AFP, there are concerns that no one is alive under the ruins.
Another representative of the Reuters Office added that rescuers called for missing pupils, used motion detectors and scanners to monitor movements or vital functions. On Thursday, they also deployed a crane to remove light parts of debris, he added.
The victims are young boys
On Wednesday evening, the director of the National Search and Rescue Agency Basarnas announced that the total number of victims had reached six, although the agency to alleviate the consequences of disasters on Thursday still reported five victims.
The school building collapsed on Monday when the pupils participated in prayers. The victims are mostly boys of teenage age. The girls prayed in another part of the building and managed to escape. School pupils are between the ages of 12 and 17, explains the BBC television. The original prayer room had two floors, but without permission to it were added two more. The police said the foundations of the old building were probably unable to carry the annex and collapsed during concreting, AP explains.
According to the BBC, the affected school belongs to the Pestantren category – a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. Students live there, study and practice religion under the guidance of a religious teacher. Traditionally, they focus on Islamic studios, the Qur’an memorization, the teaching of Arabic and Islamic law. Currently, many of them also offer general education.
