- Part of the school collapsed when the students met for sentences.
- The evacuation process is still ongoing, says the official of the rescue agency.
- You can find more victims: Head of the Disaster Agency.
The number of deaths in an Indonesian school collapse increased to 17 on Saturday, authorities said, since rescuers deployed heavy machinery to recover more victims dozens believing that they were still buried under the debris.
Part of the multi -story boarding school suddenly collapsed on Monday when the students gathered for the afternoon prayers.
The rescuers recovered two bodies and a part of the body of the rubble on Saturday, which brought the death toll to 17, the director of Operation of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Yudhi Bramantyo said in a statement.
“The evacuation process is still ongoing. The elimination of debris focuses on the north side in an unintegrated area with the main structure,” Yudhi said on Saturday.
The local search and rescue chief, the head of the rescue agency, Nanang Sigit, confirmed the toll updated in a separate statement.
Earlier on Saturday, the authorities said they had recovered nine bodies on Friday.
Rescuers were looking for 49 missing people, said the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, before the recovery of the last organizations.
More victims could be found, said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, only goes with a name, since rescuers brought heavy machinery to clean places where the victims were believed to be buried under the debris.
“After the last victim was found last night, we are focusing on a massive cleaning, with heavy equipment that enters the collapsed areas,” said, according to the TV Kompas station.
The collapse of the school was so violent that it sent tremors through the neighborhood, according to residents.
The researchers have been investigating the cause of collapse, but the initial signals pointed to the construction of lower quality, experts said.
The rescue operation was complex because the vibrations in one place could affect other areas, authorities said.
But the families of the disappeared agreed on Thursday to use heavy equipment, after the “72 -hour period of 72 hours for the best survival opportunity came to an end.
The rescue operation was complicated by an earthquake that hit on Tuesday night, briefly stopping the search.
