Update: Al Khoziny Musala Incident Increases To 61 People, 17 Have Been Identified

SIDOARJO Search and rescue (SAR) efforts for victims of the collapse of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, Buduran, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java, are still ongoing intensively. As of Monday, October 6 at 22:45 WIB, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that the number of victims who died increased to 61 after the team managed to find 12 additional bodies under the rubble.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, said that out of the total number of victims who died, 17 bodies had been identified by the East Java Police Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

"All the bodies that have been identified have been handed over to the family or guardian of the students for burial according to the provisions," said Abdul Muhari in his statement, Tuesday, October 7.

Temporary data compiled from the Emergency Handling Command Post shows that the total affected victims reached 167 people. Of that number, 165 people and seven human body parts have been found.

In detail, 104 people were declared safe four people have finished undergoing treatment, 99 are still being treated intensively in a number of hospitals, and one person does not need medical treatment.

Based on the list of absences from Islamic boarding schools, two students are still missing. The joint team continues to search for the two using sniffer dogs and life detection devices. In addition, seven human body parts were found to have been taken to Bhayangkara Hospital Surabaya for further identification by the DVI team.

The process of cleaning up the rubble of the collapsed four-story building is still being carried out carefully. Officers deployed heavy equipment to lift the rubble, especially in the A1 and A2 sectors, which are the most affected points. Abdul Muhari emphasized that the search operation was carried out while still paying attention to the safety of officers because the old building structure on the west side was still at risk of collapsing.

"The main focus of the team on the ground at this time is to ensure that no casualties are left in the debris area, while evacuating potentially dangerous heavy material," said Abdul.

BNPB also continues to coordinate with BPBD East Java, Basarnas, TNI, Polri, and volunteers to accelerate the evacuation process as well as further data collection. The local government has prepared evacuation posts and psychosocial services for the families of the victims and students who survived the tragic incident.