THE bodies of multiple boys were pulled today from beneath the rubble of a collapsed school in Indonesia.

Rescue crews have been working by hand since the collapse of the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo on the eastern side of Indonesia’s Java island on Monday.

But with no more signs of life detected by Thursday, they turned to heavy excavators to help them progress more rapidly.

The structure fell on top of hundreds of people in a prayer hall at the school of mostly boys between the ages of 12 and 19. 

Young female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

Eight students have been confirmed dead and about 105 injured and 55 remain unaccounted for.

Two of the bodies found today were in the prayer hall area and one was found closer to an exit as if he had been attempting to escape, according to Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Authorities have said the building was two storeys, but two more levels were being added without a permit. 

Police said the old building’s foundation apparently was unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed.

School officials have not yet commented.