(MENAFN) On Wednesday, officials stated that around 91 students are feared to be stuck beneath the wreckage after a boarding school building fell down in Indonesia's East Java district.

The National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) has revised its initial estimate of 38 missing people; student presence reports now indicate that 91 individuals remain buried under the rubble as of Wednesday morning.

BNPB representative Abdul Muhari stated that the collapse happened because the foundation columns could not support the extra weight of the freshly constructed fourth floor.

According to a BNPB statement, a joint search and rescue (SAR) force of 332 personnel has been stationed, which are made up of local disaster agencies, police, and army officials.
Although heavy machinery is on standby, it's currently unusable because of concerns that the shaking might cause additional parts of the building to fall.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported on Tuesday that the incident at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School happened while hundreds of students were attending prayers.

Following the collapse, 102 people were rescued, but three others were verified dead.

MENAFN02102025000045017640ID1110141464