A massive rescue operation is currently underway in Indonesia after a local school collapsed, trapping dozens of students under rubble.
Officials said that at least three students have died and dozens of others are still missing following the collapse of the Al Khoziny boarding school. The educational institution was located in Sidoarjo, which is a town east of Jakarta.
Indonesian School Collapses
Now, the families of the trapped students, the majority of whom are said to be teenage boys, are anxiously waiting for news of the rescue teams' efforts. The 38 individuals who are still missing include students and workers at the school.
In a statement, the country's National Agency for Disaster Management said that 77 victims were transferred to hospitals to be treated for various injuries. Officials noted that the building's foundation pillars gave way while construction workers were still laying down concrete. It was reported that the building was undergoing unauthorized expansion, according to ABC News.
The agency said in a social media post that the incident called attention to the need for the "strict implementation of construction safety standards." It added that the authorities' primary focus right now is to assess the site, monitor the remaining building structure, and prepare evacuation routes for victims.
At the site of the collapse, emergency teams were seen running oxygen and water to the victims who were still trapped under the rubble. They added that several bodies were scattered under the rubble, noting that they are still focused on rescuing the surviving individuals.
The operational director of the search and rescue services, Yudhi Bramantyo, said that they initially evacuated seven victims, five of whom were alive, and two were already dead. He added that the victims who were alive were able to communicate with officials, Aljazeera reported.
Dozens of Students Trapped
A spokesperson for the National Disaster and Mitigation Agency, Abdul Muhari, said they believe that 91 people were buried underneath the rubble. Parents were demanding that rescue efforts be accelerated.
One parent, Abdul Hanan, said, "We believe our children might still be alive because they were crying for help. Another parent, Dewi Sulistiana, was waiting for news regarding her missing 14-year-old son.
Many parents camped outside of the collapsed school, some being seen on their phones on Wednesday. Jayanti Mandasari, whose 16-year-old son was among the victims still missing, said there has been no apology from the management of the Islamic boarding school, which tried to blame the other party for the incident, as per The Guardian.
