In Indonesia, a boarding school building collapsed, leaving dozens of personnel and children trapped in the debris.
Since the terrible event on Monday, September 29, three pupils have died and about 101 have been sent to the hospital.
“Oh my God … my son is still buried,” a mother cried hysterically as she waited for her child to be located.
Students and workers remain trapped in the rubble after a boarding school building collapsed in Indonesia
In the East Javan town of Sidoarjo, students from the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School had assembled for prayer when the structure collapsed.
When the workers and students started to hear rocks falling, panic broke out.
“It got louder and louder,” the 13-year-old named Muhammad Rijalul Qoib told detikJatim.
The seventh-grader claimed that as soon as he rushed outdoors, roof debris fell on top of him. Fortunately, he was able to scramble out of the debris.
A student recalled climbing out of the rubble himself after roof debris fell on top of him
Another student Sofa recalled seeing his fellow schoolmates suffer “lots of injuries.”
“There were also broken bones,” he told a local media outlet.
Search and rescue personnel were certain that people were still within the structure that had collapsed.
According to search and rescue officer Nanang Sigit, who spearheaded the operation, they could hear “crying and shouting.”
“But we need to be vigilant and tread carefully, because the condition of the collapsed building is unstable,” he added.
The number of fatalities is likely to increase as rescuers sift through the debris
On a noticeboard within the boarding school compound, 65 kids were listed as missing as of Tuesday morning.
“Oh my God … my son is still buried, oh my God please help!” a mother cried after seeing her son’s name on the list.
Another father held one of the rescue members’ hands and cried, “Please, sir, please find my child immediately.”
Boys between the ages of 12 and 17 made up the majority of the absent students.
When the school collapsed, the female students who were praying in a different area of the structure were able to flee.
Overnight, rescuers dug to find people buried beneath the massive concrete slabs.
“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,” Sigit said.
“Oh my God … my son is still buried, oh my God please help!” a mother cried after seeing her son’s name the list of missing students
According to Sigit, rescuers found more bodies beneath the wreckage, but they continued to concentrate on finding survivors who were still alive.
According to the leader of another search organization, the collapsed building has taken the shape of a “pancake type structure.”
There are “layers of concrete slabs leaving only narrow voids, unstable conditions, and the possibility of survivors still trapped,” he added.
The cause of the collapse is currently being investigated.
The lads had assembled in a two-story prayer hall, according to provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast. However, it was suspected that two more floors were being constructed without a permit.
“The old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process,” he said.
It is believed the “old building’s foundation” couldn’t support the structure and caved in
Netizens expressed grief over the tragic incident, with one saying, “They must be so scared.”
“I hope by some miracle these children survive, heartbreaking for all the families concerned,” one said.
Another wrote, “My heart aches for the children and families caught in this tragedy.”
