Indonesian rescue teams are frantically searching for scores of young students buried for two days under rubble in Sidoarjo, East Java, after their Islamic boarding school collapsed on them during afternoon prayers.
In one pocket of the mangled concrete of the collapsed century-old Al Khoziny boarding school, authorities located six children alive and were running food, water and oxygen to the trapped group.
But in total, at least 91 people remain missing, Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Authority (BPBD) said late Tuesday. At least three people have died, and 100 others were injured.
Indonesian officials have warned that time is running out to reach those still alive as the mammoth rescue operation entered its third day on Wednesday.
Laksita Rini, head of Fire and Rescue Department in the East Java city of Surabaya, told CNN that there was still hope as “once a specific location is identified, the chances of survival can be increased.”
Rescue efforts are under further strain, however, after an earthquake struck the region of Sumenep, about 124 miles from the collapse site, Reuters reported. Authorities fear the impact of those tremors may have packed the debris tighter.
The six trapped children were able to communicate with the team on Wednesday, and rescuers were creating “tunnel-like passages or culverts to save the survivors,” she added.
Emi Frizer, an official from Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, expressed concern over Tuesday’s 6.5 magnitude quake. He told Reuters it is likely to reduce space for those still trapped and narrow the room for maneuver during an already complicated rescue mission.
“How to hold on to the targets’ lives while still having the same access – that’s going to take us a little longer,” Frizer said.
There are 15 locations that teams are focusing on, six of which are strongly suspected to still contain survivors, the head of Indonesia’s national Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Syafii, told local TV station Kompas.
Without specifying the exact number still alive, Syafii said rescue teams have managed to establish communication with several trapped people.
Desperate family members have gathered at the school in Sidoarjo, about 670 kilometers (420 miles) east of Jakarta, where a list naming the missing students had been posted. (CNN)
