A race to rescue Indonesian pupils in school collapse

Rescue workers continued to search Wednesday for dozens of missing students believed to be buried under the rubble of a collapsed school in the province of East Java.

- By Ninrek KARMINI AND EDNA TARIGAN

The death toll after the incident on Monday has risen to six, according to Yudhi Bramantyo, deputy chief of operations of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Five survivors were rescued after a tunnel was dug at the base of the building to their location.

“Their conditions were better as they were detected yesterday. They can communicate since yesterday while their bodies are covered by concrete. We have been able to provide food and drink support since yesterday,” Bramantyo said.

Rescuers are racing against the clock in the search for other survivors, with dozens of students still unaccounted for, he added.

The structure fell on top of hundreds of people about 2:30 p.m. on Monday in a prayer hall at the century-old al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, on the eastern side of Indonesia’s Javaisland.

The students were mostly boys ages 12 to 18. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.