Sidoarjo: The death toll from the collapse of the Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, has risen to 14, as rescuers continue efforts to recover dozens of students believed still buried under the rubble.
Hundreds of students, mostly teenage boys, were inside the school when it collapsed, initially killing at least five and injuring around 100.
BNPB (National Disaster Mitigation Agency) Chief Suharyanto told reporters that rescuers discovered nine additional bodies, raising the confirmed fatalities to 14. The Chief added that 49 people remain missing and could still be trapped beneath the debris.
Heavy machinery is being deployed to clear areas where victims are believed to be buried. Identification has been complicated because most victims were under 18 and lacked official government identity cards or fingerprint records. Some bodies were too severely damaged to be visually recognized.
According to Abdul Muhari, head of BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre, 167 people were recorded as affected, with 104 found safe. Fourteen survivors remain hospitalized, 89 have been discharged, and one has been transferred to another hospital.
The collapse was reportedly so violent that it caused tremors across the neighborhood, alarming residents. Experts investigating the incident suggest substandard construction may have been a contributing factor. Rescuers also faced challenges because vibrations in one area could affect other parts of the rubble.
After the initial 72-hour ‘golden period’ for survival ended, families of the missing agreed to the use of heavy machinery to aid the rescue efforts. The operation was briefly halted overnight due to an earthquake, adding further complexity to the search for survivors.
This marks the second major building collapse in Indonesia within a month. On September 3, a community hall in Bogor, West Java, hosting a Quran recital collapsed, killing at least three people and injuring several others.
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