Search continues as Indonesia building toll rises to 49
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The recovery of more bodies has lifted the death toll to 49 following the collapse of a prayer hall at an Islamic boarding school in East Java, Indonesia.
Rescue teams using heavy excavators equipped with jackhammers, saws and sometimes their bare hands, have removed tonnes of rubble in an attempt to find the 14 students reportedly still missing after the collapse on September 29.
Rescuers found 35 bodies over the weekend alone, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
The structure fell on top of hundreds of students, mostly boys between the ages of 12 and 19, at the century-old Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo.
Only one student escaped unscathed, authorities said, while 97 were treated for various injuries and released. Six others suffered serious injuries and remained in hospital.
Police said two levels were being added to the two-storey building without a permit, leading to structural failure. This has triggered widespread anger over illegal construction in Indonesia.
“The construction couldn’t support the load while the concrete was pouring (to build) the third floor because it didn’t meet standards and the whole 800 square metres construction collapsed,” said Mudji Irmawan, a construction expert from Tenth November Institute of Technology.
Irmawan also said students shouldn’t have been allowed inside a building under construction.
Sidoarjo district chief, Subandi, confirmed the school’s management had not applied for the required permit before starting construction.
“Many buildings, including traditional boarding school extensions, in non-urban areas were built without a permit,” Subandi told The Associated Press.
Indonesia’s 2002 Building Construction code states that permits have to be issued by the relevant authorities prior to any construction, or else owners face fines and imprisonment. If a violation causes death, this can lead to up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to eight billion rupiah ($A759,475).
The school’s caretaker, Abdus Salam Mujib, a respected Islamic cleric, offered a public apology after the collapse.
“This is indeed God’s will, so we must all be patient, and may God replace it with goodness, with something much better. We must be confident that God will reward those affected by this incident with great rewards,” he said.
Criminal investigations involving Muslim clerics remain sensitive in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
There has been no comment from school officials since the collapse.
“We will investigate this case thoroughly,” East Java police chief Nanang Avianto said. “Our investigation also requires guidance from a team of construction experts to determine whether negligence by the school led to the deaths.”
AP
