Death Toll Rises to Nine in Indonesian School Collapse as Rescue Efforts Continue
The confirmed death toll from the collapse of an Islamic school in Indonesia’s East Java province rose to nine on Friday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency reported, as rescuers continued searching for survivors.
The Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo collapsed on Monday during afternoon prayers, crushing hundreds of teenage students. Investigators said the building’s foundations were unable to support ongoing construction work on the upper floors.
Rescue teams, supported by 30 ambulances, were still searching for more than 50 students, mostly boys aged 13 to 19, trapped under the rubble. The death toll had increased from five the previous day. Rescuers received permission from parents to use heavy equipment after earlier attempts failed to locate any signs of life.
“Every family of the victims has given their blessing for the use of heavy equipment, even if it disturbs the bodies beneath the rubble,” agency chief Suharyanto said, warning that more casualties could be found. Cranes were deployed to help clear debris, while teams dug through tunnels in the wreckage, calling out names and using sensors, but no additional survivors were located.
Fourteen students rescued from the collapse were receiving medical treatment as of Friday.
Al Khoziny is a pesantren, an Islamic boarding school. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, has approximately 42,000 pesantren serving around seven million students, according to the country’s religious affairs ministry.
