SIDOARJO, Oct 6 : Indonesian recovery crews on Monday recovered nearly a dozen bodies as they searched for young people missing after a prayer hall at an Islamic boarding school collapsed last week, bringing the death toll to 60.
The structure caved in on September 29 when the students, mostly boys between the ages of 12 and 19, were performing afternoon prayers. The building at the century-old Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo on Indonesia’s Java island was undergoing an unauthorised expansion.
Only one student escaped unscathed, authorities said, while 99 were treated for various injuries and released. Four suffered serious injuries and remained hospitalised Monday after undergoing amputations.
With no more signs of life from beneath the tonnes of rubble 72 hours after the incident, authorities last week turned to heavy excavators to help them progress more rapidly.
The National Disaster Management Agency said rescue workers pulled 11 bodies and at least six body parts from the rubble on Monday. They continued their search for three students reportedly still missing.
Authorities said most of the bodies were found in a difficult state and difficult to identify. Grief-stricken relatives provided DNA samples to help with identification at the Bhayangkara police hospital in the neighbouring city of Surabaya, the capital of East Java province.
A top search official, citing the condition of the remains recovered, said no survivors are expected. (AP)
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