Rescuers run oxygen to survivors in Indonesia school building collapse that buried dozens
Sidoarjo (AP): 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 Tuesday morning more than 12 hours after the structure fell. At least one student was killed, dozens were injured and 65 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.
Families of the students gathered at hospitals or near the collapsed building, anxiously awaiting news of their children. Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull a dusty, injured student from the buried prayer hall.
A notice board at the command post set up in the boarding school complex listed 65 students as missing as of Tuesday morning. They are mostly boys in grades seven to 11, between the ages of 12 and 17.
“Oh my God... my son is still buried, oh my God please help!” a mother cried hysterically upon seeing her child's name on the board, followed by the cries of other parents whose relatives had suffered a similar fate.
“Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” cried a father, holding the hand of one of the rescue team members.
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. He added that rescuers saw several bodies under the rubble but were focused on saving those who were still alive.
Several hundred rescuers were involved in the effort and had equipment for breathing, extrication, medical evacuation and other support tools.
The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing an unauthorised expansion when it suddenly collapsed on top of them, provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said.
Residents, teachers and administrators assisted injured students, many with head injuries and broken bones. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.
One male student, a 13-year-old boy, was killed and 99 other students were injured and taken to hospitals, some of them in critical condition, officials said.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse. Abast said the old prayer hall was two stories but two more were being added without a permit.
“The old building's foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process,” Abast said.
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Former minister C M Ibrahim announces to launch new regional party for Karnataka
Kalaburagi: Two years after being expelled from the Janata Dal (Secular), former minister C.M. Ibrahim has announced that he will launch a new regional political party in Karnataka on January 24, reported Deccan Herald.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Nava Karnataka Nirmana Andolana in Kalaburagi on Sunday, Ibrahim confirmed the birth of the new party.
The 77-year-old politician stated he would soon be meeting with other like-minded individuals to choose a symbol for the party.
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Ibrahim emphasised that the organisation would be guided by the principles of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna and the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
A veteran politician, Ibrahim served as Union Civil Aviation Minister during the tenure of H.D. Deve Gowda as Prime Minister and later headed the Karnataka unit of the Janata Dal (Secular). He was expelled from the JD(S) in 2023 on charges of anti-party activities.
His exit from the party followed sharp differences over the JD(S) decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As the then state president of the JD(S), Ibrahim had publicly criticised the alliance, claiming it was finalised without his knowledge. He had also reportedly convened meetings of his supporters and expressed support for the INDIA bloc.
