The death toll in the school building collapse in Indonesia’s Java rose to nine on Friday, after rescue authorities pulled out more bodies from the rubble, officials said.
A part of the multi-storey Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo had collapsed suddenly on Tuesday night as students gathered for afternoon prayers.
Officials had earlier confirmed that more than 59 people were missing before bodies began to be pulled from the debris.
Two bodies of male students who had been hit by the falling debris were recovered on Friday from the main ablution area, said Yudhi Bramantyo, the chief of the national search and rescue agency.
Also Read: 3 students dead, 91 still buried in Java school building collapse
Meanwhile, families of the victims have been waiting anxiously near the site for news of their loved ones.
Investigations into the cause of the collapse are continuing, but initial findings pointed to substandard construction, investigators have said.
Officials said that the search operation to trace out the missing children is complex, since every stone or brick has to be removed with extra caution. Any jolts in one place may affect other areas and crush those who may have survived.
However, family members of the missing agreed on Thursday for heavy equipment to be used so as to quicken the pace of rescue operations.
At least one crane was deployed to clear the rubble, with more expected to be called upon to speed up recovery efforts. The 72-hour ‘golden period’ for the best chance of survival has since come to an end.
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