Rescuers turn to heavy machinery as hope fades of finding survivors of Indonesia school collapse

SIDOARJO, Indonesia — Indonesian rescue authorities made the tough decision on Thursday to start using heavy machinery to move large sections of a collapsed school, with no more signs of life from beneath the rubble and nearly 60 teenage students still unaccounted for three days after the building caved in.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno told reporters on the scene in Sidoarjo that the decision had been made in consultation with the families of those still missing.

Five students were rescued Wednesday by workers who tunneled into the rubble using only hand tools. Pratikno said on Thursday work would proceed with extreme caution even though no more signs of life could be detected.

“In any case, we will be very, very careful when using the heavy machines,” said Pratikno, who only goes by one name as is common in Indonesia.

The structure fell on top of hundreds of people on Monday in the prayer hall at the century-old al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, on the eastern side of Indonesia’s Java island.

Authorities have said the building was two stories but two more were being added without a permit. Police said the old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process.

Five people have been confirmed killed so far, and of about 105 who were injured, more than two dozen are still hospitalized, with many said to have suffered head injuries and broken bones.

The students were mostly boys in grades seven to 12, between ages 12-19. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

Most rescues typically happen within 24 hours after such disasters, with chances of survival decreasing steadily as time progresses.

Nearly 220 workers were on the scene Thursday with ambulances on hand ready to take any survivors found quickly to the hospital. But authorities also brought in large quantities of body bags, a tacit acknowledgement that the odds of finding anyone left alive were rapidly diminishing.

“We are no longer considering the possibility of survivors remaining, but we will still proceed with caution, said Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, who also goes by one name.

The numbers of missing have fluctuated widely over the course of the three-day recovery effort, and Suharyanto conceded that authorities are still not certain how many students may be buried, having made their estimate based on school attendance figures and information from families.

“We really hope that these 59 people are not there under the rubble,” he said. “It happened previously that parents reported their children missing but turned out that their children were somewhere else — I do hope and pray that they are not there.”

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of family members still anxiously awaited news of their loved ones at the boarding school where they arrived after hearing about the incident on Monday. They filled the school’s corridors with mattresses to sleep on, provided by the local government, and were given food, snacks and drinks.

“I can’t give up, I have to believe that my son is still alive, he is a hyperactive boy … he is very strong,” said Hafiah, who uses one name.

Her son, Muhammad Abdurrohman Nafis, is 15 and in the ninth grade.

She recalled that he ate his favorite satay rice with gusto when she visited him on Sunday, a day before his friends told her that Nafis was among those in the collapsed building.

She said Nafis is to graduate from al Khoziny’s junior high school in a few months and wants to continue his education at a mechanical engineering high school.

Hafiah spoke about how powerless she felt that she couldn’t get to her son and help him. “I can’t give up as the rescue team is currently trying to help our children out,” she said.