Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia – Hopes for dozens of students feared trapped in rubble at a collapsed boarding school have turned to anguish as authorities shift their focus from rescue to recovery.
Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, told a news conference on Thursday that thermal drones and other equipment had found “no additional signs of life” at Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School.
Relatives of the missing students collapsed in the streets around the site and wailed in anguish upon hearing the news.
Authorities said they would bring in heavy machinery to assist in recovery efforts.
Until now, they had resisted bringing in excavators to clear the debris for fear of harming anyone trapped alive.
Authorities have sealed off the school, which offi