Rescuers ran oxygen and water to students trapped in the unstable concrete rubble of a collapsed school building in Indonesia, as they desperately worked to free survivors on Tuesday a day after the structure fell. At least three students were killed, more than 100 were injured and dozens were presumed buried in the rubble.   

Rescue workers, police and soldiers digging through the night pulled out eight weak and injured survivors more than eight hours after the collapse at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo. Rescuers saw additional bodies, indicating the death toll was likely to rise.  

Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended at 10.15 am as the collapsed concrete shook suddenly. People immediately ran for their lives, fearing another collapse, as rescuers urged everyone in the area to avoid the building, including more than a dozens of ambulances that parked near the scene. The work resumed around 1.45 pm.  The students are mostly boys in grades seven to 11, between ages 12 and 18.

Grieving relatives 

Families anxiously awaited news at hospitals or near the collapsed building. A notice posted at the school complex Tuesday morning listed 65 students as missing. National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari revised the number of people presumed buried in the rubble to 38 by midday. 

Heavy slabs of concrete and other rubble and unstable parts of the building hampered search and rescue efforts, said Nanang Sigit, a search and rescue officer who lead the effort. Heavy equipment was available but not being used due to concerns that it could cause further collapse. 

"We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped under the debris and keeping them alive while we work hard to get them out," Sigit said.