Figure : Location of School Collapse in East Java, Indonesia
October 7, 2025 – Jakarta, Indonesia
Search and rescue teams in Indonesia are continuing to comb through the wreckage of a collapsed Islamic boarding school in East Java, as the confirmed death toll rose to 65 on Monday, a week after the incident.
The Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school, located in Sidoarjo, East Java, suffered a catastrophic structural failure on September 30. Concrete walls and floors gave way, trapping hundreds of mostly teenage boys inside the building. Many students managed to escape, but dozens were not as fortunate.
Mohammad Syafii, head of the national search and rescue agency, confirmed the updated death toll on Monday. He noted that additional bodies and body parts had been recovered from the rubble. However, it remains unclear how many people are still missing.
“The search will continue until we are certain that no victims remain beneath the debris,” Syafii said during a press briefing.
The collapse is believed to have been triggered by ongoing construction work on the upper levels of the school building. Preliminary investigations suggest that the original foundation was not designed to bear the added weight, leading to the tragic failure.
Drone footage and videos shared by rescue teams have shown grim scenes of workers removing debris and transporting remains in body bags from the ruins of the multi-storey structure. Families of the victims have been seen gathering nearby, offering prayers and hoping for news of their loved ones.
The incident has drawn attention to broader safety concerns within Indonesia’s vast network of Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren. According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, there are approximately 42,000 such schools across the country. However, only a small fraction—reportedly just 50—have obtained proper building permits.
It is currently unclear whether the Al Khoziny school had any form of official construction approval. Efforts to reach the school’s administration for comment have so far been unsuccessful.
This tragedy comes amid growing calls for stricter oversight of school construction projects and a thorough review of building safety regulations in Indonesia’s education sector.
Source: NHK World Japan
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