Indonesia earthquake: 21 young students die in one school
Sawako Utsumi and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
The death toll is now 271 in Indonesia after the earthquake struck the Cianjur region. Many of the victims were children. Indeed, in one tragic school, 21 young students perished.
Rescue workers are still searching for many missing people. However, with each passing hour, the chances of rescuing people will become more remote.
In one devastated school, 21 young students perished at the Madrasah Tarbiyatusibyan. This elementary school is located in the Cugenang subdistrict. One moment they were studying the teachings of Islam – and the next moment they died when the earthquake collapsed the two-story building.
One can only imagine the utter shock of parents, other family members, fellow students, friends, and school teachers. The whole community feels so much grief!
The Guardian reports, “Provisional data released by the authorities and cited by Save the Children said about 51 education sites were affected, including 30 elementary schools, 12 junior high schools, one high school, five vocational schools and one special school.”
Poorly built buildings and educational facilities enabled the 5.6-magnitude earthquake to kill so many. The deaths of so many children also relate to the time of the earthquake which struck during the school period.
Reuters reports, “Monday’s 5.6-magnitude quake caused extensive damage in the town of Cianjur, in mountains about 75 km (45 miles) south of the capital, Jakarta. 40 people remained missing.”
The BBC says, “The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said on Tuesday that 22,000 houses had been damaged, and that more than 58,000 people had taken shelter in several locations in the region.”
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi’s website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times
PLEASE JOIN ON FACEBOOK