At least one student was killed, dozens were injured and 65 were presumed buried in the rubble.

Throughout the night, rescue teams comprised of rescue workers, police, and soldiers toiled to extract eight frail and injured survivors over eight hours after the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo, East Java, gave way. The discovery of more bodies suggested that the number of fatalities might climb further.

At 10:15 a.m. local time, rescue operations were paused due to sudden movements in the compromised concrete, signaling a potential further collapse. The immediate threat sent people scrambling to safety, some in panic, as rescuers directed everyone to steer clear of the danger zone, including the fleet of ambulances stationed nearby.

Families of the students congregated at nearby hospitals and the disaster site, anxiously seeking news about their loved ones. As rescuers extracted a dusty, injured student from the debris of the prayer hall, anguished relatives could be heard mourning.

At the command center organized within the school complex, a notice board updated as of Tuesday morning showed 65 students missing. These were predominantly boys in grades seven through eleven, aged between 12 and 17.

A mother mourned in despair upon seeing her child’s name among the missing list on the notice board, pleading for divine intervention as other parents with equally tragic circumstances joined in her lamentations.

“Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” cried a father, holding the hand of one of the rescue team members.

Heavy slabs of concrete and other rubble and unstable parts of the building hampered search and rescue efforts, said Nanang Sigit, a search and rescue officer who lead the effort. Heavy equipment was available but not being used due to concerns that it could cause further collapse.

“We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped under the debris and keeping them alive while we work hard to get them out,” Sigit said. He added that rescuers saw several bodies under the rubble but were focused on saving those who were still alive.

Several hundred rescuers were involved in the effort and had equipment for breathing, extrication, medical evacuation and other support tools.

The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing an unauthorised expansion when it suddenly collapsed on top of them, provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said.

Residents, teachers and administrators assisted injured students, many with head injuries and broken bones. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

One male student, a 13-year-old boy, was killed and 102 other students were injured and taken to hospitals, some of them in critical condition, officials said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse. Abast said the old prayer hall was two stories but two more were being added without a permit.

“The old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process,” Abast said.