Rescuers race to save survivors of Indonesia school collapse as quake hits

"A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has packed debris even tighter as the 72-hour period for best survival chances nears its end. Rescuers have pulled five survivors from a collapsed school building in Indonesia amid efforts to save dozens of children believed to be trapped under the rubble two days later. Part of the multistorey Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, on the island of Java, gave way suddenly on Monday as students gathered for afternoon prayers."

"Today we managed to evacuate seven victims, five of them were rescued alive, and two were found dead, Yudhi Bramantyo, operational director of the search and rescue services, told a news briefing. The five survivors were able to communicate. The retrieval of two bodies brings the total number of people killed in the disaster to five. National Disaster and Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said 91 people were suspected to be buried under the rubble, according to school records."

"We believe our children might still be alive because they were crying for help, Abdul Hanan, whose 14-year-old son is missing, told the AFP news service. We are racing against time now. Dewi Sulistiana was awaiting news of her 14-year-old son. I have been here for days. I cried thinking about my son, she told AFP. Why is it taking so long to find him? Why is the search so slow? I haven't had any updates, so I just wait."

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake compressed rubble at a collapsed multistorey Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, Java, complicating rescue operations as the 72-hour window for survival nears its end. Rescuers extracted five survivors and recovered two bodies from the Al-Khoziny school after part of the building gave way during afternoon prayers. School records indicate 91 people may be trapped under the debris. Search teams have dug an underground tunnel and deployed thermal-sensing drones to find survivors and the deceased. Families demanded faster action and reported children crying for help beneath the rubble. The quake that tightened debris struck Sumenep roughly 200km away.

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