Indonesian rescue teams are racing to find dozens of missing students after the collapse of a prayer hall at a century-old Islamic boarding school in East Java killed at least 37 people, officials said Sunday.
Authorities said 23 more bodies were pulled from the rubble over the weekend, nearly a week after the structure at Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo district crumbled on Sept. 30. Rescuers continued to search for 26 students who remain unaccounted for.
Using jackhammers, circular saws, and at times their bare hands, search crews worked through the debris to reach trapped victims. The building fell on top of hundreds of students — mostly boys aged 12 to 19 — who had gathered in the prayer hall. Only one student survived without injuries, while 95 others were treated and discharged. Eight students remained hospitalized with serious injuries as of Sunday.
Police said the collapse was caused by unauthorized construction. Two additional levels had been added to the original two-story structure without a permit, creating a fatal structural overload. The incident has sparked public outrage across Indonesia over illegal building practices.
“The construction couldn’t support the load while concrete was being poured for the third floor. It didn’t meet safety standards, and the entire 800-square-meter structure gave way,” said Mudji Irmawan, a construction expert at the Tenth November Institute of Technology. He added that students should never have been allowed inside the hall during construction.
Sidoarjo district chief Subandi confirmed that the school failed to obtain the necessary building permit. “Many traditional boarding schools in rural areas build without permits,” he said.
Indonesia’s 2002 Building Construction Code requires that permits be secured before construction begins. Violators face fines and prison sentences, and if a violation causes deaths, penalties can reach up to 15 years in prison and 8 billion rupiah (about $500,000) in fines.
The school is overseen by Abdus Salam Mujib, a respected cleric in East Java. In a rare public appearance the day after the collapse, he apologized and called for patience, saying, “This is indeed God’s will. We must be patient, and God will reward those affected by this incident with great rewards.”
Criminal investigations involving Islamic clerics are particularly sensitive in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
East Java Police Chief Nanang Avianto said investigators are working with construction experts to determine whether negligence by the school’s management contributed to the deaths. “We will investigate this case thoroughly,” he said.
No additional statements have been issued by the school’s officials since the collapse.
