Sidoarjo, Oct 1: Nearly two days after the collapse of a century-old Islamic school building in East Java, at least 91 students are still believed to be trapped under the debris, according to officials. Attendance records and reports from distressed families of missing children confirmed the alarming figure.
The tragedy struck on Monday (September 29, 2025) when the al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java province, crumbled during afternoon prayers. The prayer hall, packed with hundreds of students mostly teenage boys was undergoing an unauthorised expansion when the structure gave way.
More than 300 rescue personnel have been working tirelessly at the site, deploying heavy machinery and manual digging to search for survivors. Authorities confirmed that three students have died while more than 100 others sustained injuries.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) revised the number of those feared buried to 91 late Tuesday, up from an earlier estimate of 38. Officials warned that the toll could rise as rescue operations continue.