Dozens presumed dead after school collapses in Indonesia

Indonesian search and rescue teams on Thursday began using heavy equipment to search for bodies amid the concrete rubble of a school, according to Indonesia’s disaster response agency. A building at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School collapsed on Monday, killing five people and leaving 58 missing, presumed dead. The school is located in the eastern Sidoarjo district of Indonesia’s Java island. As of Thursday, 108 people had been rescued from the collapse, and most of them were released from the hospital, according to the disaster agency.

Students’ families signed forms consenting to the use of heavy equipment to move rubble, after the disaster agency’s head said teams found no further signs of life. Previously, searchers pulled people from the debris manually to prevent further collapse or injury to survivors, according to the disaster agency.

Why did the building collapse? Construction workers were adding a fourth floor to the school building at the time of the disaster. The building’s main support pillar crumbled beneath the weight, as the expansion likely didn’t follow construction standards, according to the disaster agency. School officials had not obtained permits for the construction, according to the BBC.

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