Rescuers in Indonesia are desperately searching for 91 people, mostly teenage boys, believed to be trapped under the rubble of an Islamic boarding school that collapsed in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday. The collapse has already claimed three lives, with 99 children and workers accounted for.
The Al Khoziny school building gave way while students were holding late afternoon prayers in a mosque on the lower floor. The upper floors were under construction, and authorities believe the foundation pillars failed to support the weight of new construction on the fourth floor.
Local rescue agency head Nanang Sigit reported signs of life beneath the debris, with a camera detecting six victims who showed movement. He said, 'When they saw the light from the search camera, they were moving their legs.' Rescuers are using an excavator and crane but avoiding heavy equipment to prevent further collapse.
Families have gathered at the site, anxiously checking lists of survivors. Holy Abdullah Arif, 49, described his frantic search for his nephew Rosi, still missing. He said, 'I ran around screaming, “Rosi! Rosi! If you can hear me and can move, get out!” And then a child was screaming back from the rubble.'
Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the disaster mitigation agency, called for stricter safety standards, noting that lax construction practices are common in Indonesia. The incident follows a similar collapse in West Java earlier this month that killed three, and a 2018 collapse at the Jakarta stock exchange that injured 75.
