Indonesian rescue workers 'racing against time' in search for dozens in
rubble of collapsed school
[October 01, 2025]
By EDNA TARIGAN and TRISNADI
SIDOARJO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian rescue workers were racing against
the clock on Wednesday in the search for survivors from a school
collapse in the province of East Java, with at least 91 students still
unaccounted for, along with three confirmed dead and about 100 injured.
The Islamic boarding school, which authorities said was undergoing an
unauthorized expansion to add two new stories, collapsed during
afternoon prayers on Monday, sending slabs of concrete and other heavy
debris crashing onto the students below.
Most rescues typically happen within 24 hours after such a disaster,
with chances of survival decreasing each day after that, and more than
300 workers continued to work desperately at the scene to try and reach
those who have been detected to be still alive and trapped below.
“We hope that we can complete this operation soon," Mohammad Syafii,
head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters.
"We are currently racing against time because it is possible that we can
still save lives of those we have detected within the golden hours,” he
said at the news conference.
Of the approximately 100 injured, 26 are still hospitalized and many are
said to have suffered head injuries and broken bones, authorities said.
Syafii's agency said at least six children are alive under the rubble,
but the search has been complicated with the slabs of concrete and other
parts of the building remaining unstable. Heavy equipment is available
but is not currently being used due to concerns it could cause further
collapse.
Rescuers in hardhats crawled through tight passages made of concrete
blocks, steel bars and rubble, collapsed in the debris, chipping away at
it with hammers and hand-held power tools to try and reach those still
underneath.
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Rescuers search for victims after a building under construction
collapsed, at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java,
Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Oxygen, water and food has been sent through narrow gaps to those
still trapped under the debris to keep them alive.
Search teams have also used detectors and thermal drones to detect
potential survivors who could be rescued.
The structure fell on top of hundreds of people at about 2:30 p.m.
on Monday in a prayer hall at the century-old al Khoziny Islamic
boarding school in Sidoarjo, on the eastern side of Indonesia's Java
island.
The students were mostly boys in grades seven to 12, between ages 12
and 18. Female students were praying in another part of the building
and managed to escape, survivors said.
The prayer hall was two stories high but two more were being added
without a permit, according to authorities. Police said the old
building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of
concrete and collapsed during the pouring process.
Authorities initially had said only 38 people were missing but
revised that upward to 91 late Tuesday after consulting attendance
lists and talking with families.
“In the early stages there will inevitably be some confusion about
the data,” said Suharyanto, the head of the National Disaster
Mitigation Agency, who only goes by one name as is common in
Indonesia.
___
Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press writer
Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.
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