Tragedy Strikes as Indonesian School Collapse Claims Lives

Fri Oct 10 2025 17:29:50 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A devastating collapse of an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, has left dozens missing and multiple casualties, prompting a challenging rescue operation.

In a tragic incident, an Indonesian school collapsed leaving 59 people missing and at least five confirmed dead. Rescuers face significant challenges as they search for survivors amid the debris, using heavy equipment to clear the wreckage. The school was under construction, and preliminary investigations suggest it was structurally unsound, raising concerns about safety regulations.

There are no signs of life under the wreckage of a collapsed Indonesian school where 59 people are still missing, rescuers have said.

Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the two-storey Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday. At least five students were killed and about 100 injured, officials said.

Thirteen people have been freed from the debris since rescue efforts began, though two later died in hospital. Rescue operations had been challenging due to the unstable structure of the building.

On Thursday, the disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) said rescuers using thermal drones failed to detect signs of life from the rubble.

Last night, we even [cleared] the area to ensure silence. [We] hoped that with the use of sophisticated equipment... we might hear some signs of life, Lt Gen Suharyanto, the head of the BNBP said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

He added that the team had decided to move on to the next phase of operations - using heavy equipment to move slabs of concrete. These debris blocks will either be lifted using cranes or cut into smaller pieces.

Rescuers had not been able to do this earlier as there were fears it could lead to further collapse, risking the lives of any possible survivors.

Anxious families are waiting at the school, many of them tearful but holding out hope that their loved ones are still alive.

Authorities stated that the school's management had not obtained permits to add more floors to the building, leading to concerns over the establishment's compliance with safety standards.