- Part of the school collapsed as students gathered for prayers.
- The evacuation process is still ongoing, says the Rescue Agency clerk.
- More victims could be found: Chief Agency Chief.
The death toll in an Indonesian school collapse rose to 17 on Saturday, officials said when rescuers exposed heavy machines to recover dozens of several victims still thought buried under the rubble.
Part of the multi-store’s international school suddenly collapsed Monday when students gathered for afternoon prayers.
Rescuers picked up two bodies and a body part from the rubble on Saturday, which brought the death toll to 17, the National Search and Rescue Agency (bazaarnas) said Operations Director Yudhi Bramantyo in a statement.
“The evacuation process is still ongoing. Removal of waste is focused on the north side of an area that is not integrated with the main structure,” Yudhi said on Saturday.
Local Search and Rescue Head Nanang Sigit confirmed the updated toll in a separate statement.
Earlier on Saturday, authorities said they had recovered nine bodies on Friday.
Rescuers were searching for 49 people still missing, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said chief Suharyanto before the retrieval of the latest organs.
Several victims could be found, said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, only goes with one name, as rescuers brought heavy machines to clear locations where the victims are believed to be buried under the rubble.
“After the last victim was found last night, we focus on a massive clean -up where heavy equipment enters the collapsed areas,” he said, as reported by the TV station Compass TV.
School collapse was so violent that it sent shaking over the neighborhood, according to the residents.
Investigators have investigated the cause of the collapse, but the original characters pointing to substandard construction have said experts.
The rescue operation was complex because vibrations in one place could affect other areas, officials said.
But the families of the missing agreed on Thursday for heavy equipment to be used after the 72-hour “golden period” for the best chance of survival ended.
The rescue operation was complicated by an earthquake that hit overnight on Tuesday when he briefly stopped the search.
