Rescuers run oxygen to survivors in Indonesia school building collapse
that buried dozens
[September 30, 2025]
By TRISNADI and NINIEK KARMINI
SIDOARJO, Indonesia (AP) — 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.
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Rescuers pull out a survivor from a collapsed building at an Islamic
boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 29,
2025. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
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.
____
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press writer
Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed to this report.
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