Tragedy at Indonesian Boarding School: Death Toll Rises to 49 as Search for Lost Students Continues
Indonesian rescue teams located many further remains over the past few days, raising the total fatality count to 49 after a prayer hall at an religious school fell down last week.
Relentless Emergency Efforts Ongoing
Utilizing heavy excavators outfitted with demolition tools, saws and occasionally their own hands, rescue teams cleared massive amounts of wreckage in a urgent attempt to discover the 14 students said to be still missing. Search teams discovered 35 victims over the recent period alone, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Timeline of the Tragic Event
The structure crashed down on top of scores of scholars – mainly male students aged 12 to 19 – on 29 September at the century-old boarding school in Sidoarjo. Of those extracted, 97 were treated for various injuries and sent home. Six others suffered serious injuries and remained under medical care on Sunday.
Cause of Collapse Revealed
Police state that additional floors were being built to the two-story facility lacking a official authorization, leading to structural failure. This has sparked broad anger over illegal construction in Indonesia.
“The building work failed to withstand the weight while the building material was pouring [to build] the third floor because it violated safety requirements and the entire 800-square-metres structure caved in,” explained a construction expert from Tenth November Institute of Technology.
The expert also said that students must not have been given access inside a structure being built.
Administrative Statement
Regional administrator acknowledged the educational facility's leadership had not applied for the required license before starting the project.
“Numerous buildings, among them traditional boarding school expansions, in non-urban areas were built lacking a official authorization,” the administrator said.
Legal Ramifications
The country's 2002 building construction code state that licenses have to be granted by the competent officials before any construction, or else owners risk fines and imprisonment. If a violation results in loss of life, this can result in up to 15 years in prison and a monetary sanction of up to 8bn local currency (nearly $500,000).
Apology from Institution Administration
The facility's administrator, a prominent Muslim scholar in East Java, issued a public apology in a rare address a day after the tragedy.
“This is certainly divine destiny so we must all be patient, and may God substitute it with goodness, with an outcome more beneficial,” he said. “We must be confident that God will compensate those impacted by this event with great rewards.”
Continuing Investigation
Criminal investigations involving Islamic scholars are still delicate in the largest Muslim-majority nation.
There has been no comment from facility management since the tragedy.
“We will investigate this incident thoroughly,” regional senior police official stated on Sunday.
“Our inquiry also demands input from a panel of structural engineers to establish whether negligence by the facility caused the fatalities.”
