AFP, Sidoarjo

Rescuers detected “no more signs of life” at a collapsed Indonesian school where 59 people were believed missing days after it gave way, an official said yesterday, raising fears no more survivors would be found.

Part of the multi-storey boarding school on the main island of Java collapsed suddenly on Monday as students gathered for afternoon prayers.

Five people have since been confirmed dead and 59 people were still feared buried under the rubble after days of rescue operations.

“We used high-tech equipment like thermal drones, and, scientifically, there were no more signs of life,” said Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.

Distraught families waited anxiously near the site for news of their loved ones. Many burst into tears upon hearing there were no signs of life, and one woman fainted, AFP journalists saw.

Residents near the school opened their homes to families as they waited, while charities set up posts offering food and drink.

Rescuers pulled five survivors from the rubble on Wednesday as frantic parents demanded that they speed up efforts to find dozens of children they believed were still trapped.

Investigations into the cause of the collapse in the town of Sidoarjo are continuing, but initial signs pointed to substandard construction, experts said. The building collapsed after its foundation pillars failed to support the weight of new construction on the fourth floor of the school, the national disaster management agency spokesman said.