Rescuers run oxygen to survivors in Indonesia school building collapse that buried dozens

SIDOARJO, Indonesia — Rescuers ran oxygen and water to students trapped in the unstable concrete rubble of a collapsed school building in Indonesia, as they desperately worked to free survivors Tuesday a day after the structure fell. At least three students were killed, more than 100 were injured and dozens were presumed buried in the rubble.

Rescue workers, police and soldiers digging through the night pulled out eight weak and injured survivors more than eight hours after the collapse at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo. Rescuers saw additional bodies, indicating the death toll was likely to rise.

Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended at 10:15 a.m. as the collapsed concrete shook suddenly. People immediately ran for their lives, fearing another collapse, as rescuers urged everyone in the area to avoid the building, including more than a dozens of ambulances that parked near the scene. The work resumed around 1:45 p.m.

The students are mostly boys in grades seven to 11, between ages 12 and 18.

Grieving relatives

Families anxiously awaited news at hospitals or near the collapsed building. A notice posted at the school complex Tuesday morning listed 65 students as missing. National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari revised the number of people presumed buried in the rubble to 38 by midday.

“Oh my God… my son is still buried, oh my God please help!” a mother cried hysterically upon seeing her child’s name on the board, followed by the cries of other parents whose relatives had suffered a similar fate.

“Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” cried a father, holding the hand of one of the rescue team members.

Heavy slabs of concrete and other rubble and unstable parts of the building hampered search and rescue efforts, said Nanang Sigit, a search and rescue officer who lead the effort. Heavy equipment was available but not being used due to concerns that it could cause further collapse.

“We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped under the debris and keeping them alive while we work hard to get them out,” Sigit said. He added that rescuers saw several bodies under the rubble but were focused on saving those who were still alive.

Several hundred rescuers were involved in the effort and had equipment for breathing, extrication, medical evacuation and other support tools.

A century-old Islamic boarding school

Islamic boarding schools are commonly called as “pesantren” in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, and its students who are called as “santri.” Unlike students in public schools, the santri board in dormitories, because apart from studying formal education, they also study Islamic religious knowledge intensively, and they return home only during school holidays.

Government data showed more than 42,400 pesantren listed in 2024 in Indonesia with 3,4 million santris and 370,000 Islamic teachers and preachers.

Al Khoziny is named after K.H. Raden Khozin Khoiruddi, an influential figure in East Java, and several prominent Islamic scholars have studied at the school. The community often calls it the Buduran Islamic Boarding School, referring to its location in Buduran village of Sidoarjo district.

It’s the oldest among 7,300 pesantrens in the province. The first students were recorded as studying in 1920, before the boarding school was officially established in 1927.

More than 2,000 santris study at al Khoziny, ranging from junior high school level to college.

The casualties and injuries

The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing an unauthorized expansion when it suddenly collapsed on top of them, provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said.

Residents, teachers and administrators assisted injured students, many with head injuries and broken bones. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

One male student, a 13-year-old boy, was found dead on Monday and 102 students and teachers were injured and taken to hospitals, some of them in critical condition, Muhari said. By Tuesday, 75 students and two teachers were still hospitalized, he said.

On Tuesday, two male students died from their injuries while being treated in Notopuro General Hospital, the hospital director Atok Irawan said. The two were among 11 students who initially were pulled out alive from the rubble by rescuers, he said.

At least one student had to have his arm amputated and two others underwent surgery for head injuries, Irawan said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse. Abast said the old prayer hall was two stories but two more were being added without a permit.

“The old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process,” Abast said.

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