Tragedy Strikes as Indonesian School Building Collapses, Leaving Three Dead and Many Trapped

Rescuers are racing to pull dozens of students and workers from under the rubble of a school building that collapsed in East Java, Indonesia.

Three people have been killed and 99 others hospitalised, some of them with critical injuries, officials said Tuesday, adding that the death toll may rise.

At least 38 others, many of them teenage boys, remain trapped under the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo. They had gathered for prayers when the building gave way on Monday.

The two-storey building had an unstable foundation and could not support the weight of the construction of two more floors, according to the disaster mitigation agency.

The girls were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, according to the Associated Press.

Students at the school are between 12 and 17 years old.

Footage from local media shows the collapsed part of the building completely sunken in, with large slabs of concrete sticking out.

Crying and shouting could be heard from the rubble, authorities reported, while anxious relatives camped overnight at the site awaiting news of their loved ones.

The rescue operation was temporarily suspended as the building is at risk of further collapse, and authorities are calling for specialized resource units to assist in extricating those trapped.

Mohammad Syafeii, head of the search and rescue agency Basarnas, detailed the precarious scenario faced by rescuers, noting the building's 'pancake-like structure' complicates rescue efforts.

Survivor accounts provide a chilling perspective on the incident. Seventh grader Muhammad Rijalul Qoib recounted hearing the sound of falling rubble as chaos erupted amidst the prayer gathering. Others expressed anguish at seeing friends and fellow students with serious injuries.

The tragedy raises questions about the school's construction regulations, with local authorities highlighting that the expansion of the building had not obtained the necessary permits, exposing systemic issues with oversight in Indonesia’s construction practices.