Nearly 50 Students Still Missing After Islamic Boarding School Collapses During Prayers.
SIDOARJO, Indonesia - The confirmed death toll from the collapse of a building at Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java has climbed to 14, as rescue teams continue to pull bodies from the rubble.
The collapse occurred on a Monday during afternoon prayers when the structure, reportedly undertaking unauthorized expansion, gave way on top of hundreds of students.
Search Efforts and Missing Students
For days, rescuers worked by hand in hopes of finding survivors, but by Thursday, with no signs of life detected, they shifted to using heavy machinery and jackhammers to break through the debris.
On Friday alone, nine bodies were recovered, raising the confirmed death toll to 14. Nearly 50 students remain unaccounted for.
Two of the bodies were found inside the prayer hall, while one was located near an exit-suggesting the student was trying to escape.
Eyewitness Account & Survivor’s Story
One surviving student, 13-year-old Rizalul Qoib, described how he managed to escape: he said that during the collapse, he felt the floor trembling, abandoned his prayer, and fled. He followed voices and faint light through gaps in the debris until he found a way out.
Many of those rescued suffered from serious head injuries and fractures, and they are being treated at hospitals.
Cause and Challenges
Preliminary findings indicate that the building’s foundation was unable to support the extra floors being added during an unpermitted expansion.
Rescue operations are delicate because shifting rubble in one area could collapse adjacent sections. The use of heavy machinery was delayed by concerns about causing further collapses.
Victim identification has also been difficult, as many of those affected were under 18, and some bodies were severely damaged.
Officials say around 167 people were recorded as present at the time of the collapse; so far, 104 have been accounted for-either rescued or declared safe. Of the confirmed survivors, 14 are hospitalized, 89 have been discharged, and one has been transferred.
Outlook and Response
Authorities expect the recovery operation to conclude by Saturday, but they warn that the death toll may rise further as they continue to search unexplored zones.
Many in the local community, as well as safety and education advocates nationwide, are calling for stricter enforcement of building codes and greater oversight-especially in religious boarding schools, known in Indonesia as pesantren-where unauthorized construction is reportedly common.