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At least three students have been confirmed dead and dozens remain missing after the collapse of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia’s East Java province, authorities said on Tuesday.
The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, reported that as of 12:30 p.m. local time (0530 GMT), the total number of victims stood at 102, comprising 99 survivors and three fatalities. The National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) said rescuers are searching for 38 people believed to be trapped under the rubble.
So far, 11 people have been pulled out alive, while 91 others managed to escape on their own. BNPB added that 77 victims have been taken to hospitals in the area for treatment of various injuries.
“Efforts to assess the site, monitor the remaining building structure, and prepare evacuation routes for victims are the primary focus of the teams on the ground,” the agency said in a statement on social media. It emphasized that the incident highlights the urgent need for stricter enforcement of construction safety standards.
“The public and managers of multistorey buildings are urged to ensure technical supervision during construction to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” it added.
Earlier, the National Search and Rescue Agency had said that “provisional data” suggested around 100 students were caught up in the collapse, with all but one initially believed to have survived.
The four-storey Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo, East Java, came crashing down at around 3 p.m. on Monday as students gathered for afternoon prayers. Authorities believe the foundation pillars gave way while crews were concreting the fourth floor, leaving dozens trapped beneath the debris.
This marks the second major building collapse in Indonesia in less than a month.
