Disaster crews in Indonesia were racing on Tuesday to save at least 30 students who officials said were trapped when an Islamic boarding school collapsed during a prayer service, killing at least three of their classmates.
The school in the Indonesian province of East Java collapsed on Monday afternoon, officials said. At least three students were killed and dozens more were injured, Gatot Subroto, the head of the province’s disaster management agency, said in a text message.
Rescuers were scrambling on Tuesday morning to find at least 30 students who were missing in the rubble, Nanang Sigit, the head of an East Java office for Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, said in an interview. Rescuers have found 11 students, Mr. Nanang said.
Mr. Gatot said rescue teams were trying to “optimize” the time available to find survivors. But Mr. Nanang said the work was challenging because what was left of the building was unstable and could potentially collapse again.
Officials did not say precisely what had caused the school, in the town of Sidoarjo, to collapse.
Mr. Nanang said workers were pouring concrete on the school’s top floor when its pillars gave way, sending the upper part of the structure crashing onto a lower floor where students were praying.
Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, has more than 30,000 Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, where children, often from rural areas, come to live and study, according to the country’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Officials said the death toll in Sidoarjo could rise. About 100 students had been taken to the hospital with injuries, some in critical condition, Mr. Gatot said.
Rescuers have provided water and food to those they have reached, but concerns remain about dwindling oxygen and water supplies for students who are trapped, Mr. Nanang said. Crews are digging holes at different points because children are scattered under the rubble, he said.
Excavators are on standby, but officials said they have not used them out of concern that the machines could cause the structure to collapse further and endanger those still alive.
Shoddy construction has often been a problem in Indonesia, where buildings have collapsed in earthquakes and because of structural instability. In 2022, an earthquake in Java, the country’s main island, killed hundreds and flattened homes and buildings.
No seismic activity was reported at the time the school collapsed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Mark Walker is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on transportation. He is based in Washington.
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