Indonesia battles to rescue trapped students at collapsed school building

Rescuers in Indonesia's East Java province have been battling to rescue dozens of students trapped under rubble of a school building that collapsed on Monday, using thermal drones and other sophisticated technology, with "no signs of life," according to local authorities Thursday.

Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the two-story building when it collapsed on Monday, killing at least five students and injuring about 100.

Some 13 people have so far been pulled out from the debris since the rescue operation began, though two later died in the hospital.

Tearful relatives camped out at the school overnight waiting for news of their loved ones, as authorities on Wednesday said crying and shouting could still be heard from under the rubble.

At least five have been declared dead, according to a statement by the National Disaster Management Agency.

The process of evacuating some 59 trapped students under the rubble of the prayer room building at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the town of Sidoarjo will continue, the local broadcaster Kompas TV reported.

The disaster management agency revealed that as of Wednesday evening, 59 people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.

The agency said rescuers using thermal drones failed to detect signs of life from the rubble, according to the BBC.

Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, head of the agency, said at a news conference on Thursday that rescuers have used sophisticated equipment to hear some signs of life.

"Scientifically, no signs of life were found," he added, noting that if signs of life are still found, the team will maximize the search with steps that must be carefully calculated.

Suharyanto added that rescue teams have decided to use heavy equipment to move slabs of concrete. It was not done earlier as there were fears it could lead the building to collapse further, he further said.