Rescuers run oxygen to Indonesia school collapse survivors, dozens still buried

Rescuers supplied oxygen and water to students trapped beneath the unstable concrete remains of a collapsed school building in Indonesia on Tuesday, working urgently to free survivors a day after the structure gave way. At least three students were confirmed dead, more than 100 were injured, and dozens were believed to be buried under the rubble.

Teams of rescuers, police and soldiers worked through the night, pulling eight weak and injured survivors from the wreckage of Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo more than eight hours after the collapse. Additional bodies were also seen, suggesting the death toll was likely to rise.

Efforts were halted at 10.15 am when the debris shook unexpectedly, prompting rescuers and onlookers to flee in fear of another collapse. More than a dozen ambulances stationed nearby were also moved away. The search resumed at around 1.45 pm.

The students affected were mostly boys aged 12 to 18, in grades seven to eleven.

Relatives gathered at hospitals and near the site in desperate search of news. A notice posted at the school on Tuesday morning listed 65 students as missing. By midday, National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said the number presumed buried had been revised down to 38.

“My God… my son is still buried, oh God please help!” cried one mother on seeing her child’s name on the board. Other parents echoed her grief. “Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” pleaded a father as he clutched a rescuer’s hand.

Heavy concrete slabs and unstable parts of the building obstructed the operation, said Nanang Sigit, who led the search and rescue effort. While heavy machinery was available, it was not deployed due to fears of causing further collapse.

“We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped, keeping them alive while we work to free them,” Sigit said, noting that several bodies had been spotted beneath the wreckage but that the priority remained saving lives.

Several hundred rescuers took part, equipped with breathing apparatus, extraction tools, and medical evacuation support.

Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, are known as pesantren, and their students as santri. Unlike pupils in state schools, santri live in dormitories, where they combine formal education with intensive Islamic studies, returning home only during holidays.

Government figures from 2024 recorded more than 42,400 pesantren nationwide, educating 3.4 million santri with the support of around 370,000 Islamic teachers and preachers.

Al Khoziny is named after K.H. Raden Khozin Khoiruddi, an influential cleric in East Java, and has produced many respected Islamic scholars. Locals often call it Buduran Islamic Boarding School after its location in Buduran village, Sidoarjo district.

It is the oldest of the province’s 7,300 pesantren, with its first students recorded in 1920 before the school was formally established in 1927. Today, it educates more than 2,000 santri, from junior high school through to college level.

According to provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast, the collapse occurred while students were performing afternoon prayers in a building undergoing unauthorised expansion.

Residents, teachers and administrators rushed to help injured pupils, many suffering head injuries and broken bones. Survivors reported that female students, who had been praying elsewhere, managed to escape.

On Monday, a 13-year-old boy was found dead, while 102 students and teachers were injured, some critically, according to Muhari. By Tuesday, 75 students and two teachers remained in hospital.

Two boys pulled from the rubble alive later died in Notopuro General Hospital, director Atok Irawan confirmed. They had been among 11 survivors rescued on Monday.

At least one student underwent amputation and two others required surgery for head injuries, Irawan added.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the disaster. Abast said the prayer hall had originally been two storeys high, but two more were added without permission.

“The foundation of the old building was apparently too weak to bear the additional concrete floors and collapsed during the pouring process,” Abast said.

With agency inputs