Rescuers search for dozens of students after Indonesia school collapse
3rd October 2025
More than 10 ambulances were lined up near a collapsed Islamic boarding school in Indonesia’s East Java province on Friday as rescuers searched for nearly 60 students still trapped beneath the rubble, a Reuters witness reported.
The Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo caved in on Monday during afternoon prayers, burying hundreds of teenagers when its foundations gave way under ongoing construction work on the upper floors.
Most of the missing students are boys aged 13 to 19. A crane has been brought in to help clear debris.
By Thursday evening, authorities confirmed five deaths and said 30 people were hospitalised. Rescuers reported no signs of life after digging through tunnels, despite using sensors and calling out the students’ names.
Al Khoziny is a pesantren, or Islamic boarding school. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, has about 42,000 pesantren serving more than 7 million students, according to the religious affairs ministry.
Reuters