5 Students Rescued from Rubble of Collapsed Boarding School as 59 Remain Missing

Five students have been pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed boarding school in Indonesia. 

The Al Khoziny boarding school in Sidoarjo, about 485 miles east of the capital of Jakarta, collapsed on Monday, Sept. 29. 

According to CNN, seven teenage boys were found on Wednesday, Oct. 1 and pulled from the rubble, though two of them were deceased. 

At least five people have now died in the incident and 59 were still missing as of Thursday morning, the outlet reported, citing local authorities. PEOPLE previously reported that three people had died, including a 13-year-old boy.

Thirteen-year-old Syailendra Haikal was among those rescued on Wednesday. His mother, Dwi Ajeng Tyasusanti, told CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia on Thursday, “I kept saying, ‘…My child is strong, my child is strong, my child is strong.’ ”

“Haikal made it out,” his mother continued from the hospital. “His [injuries] were only on the face, just some bruises on his legs.”

Umi Kulsum, whose 15-year-old son Sulaiman Hadi is among those missing, told CNN she is hopeful her son will be found. 

“I still believe my son can be found alive. I just ask the rescuers to keep searching until they find him. He’s my only child,” Kulsum, 37, said. 

Kulsum added that she last spoke to her son, who was studying at the school when it collapsed, three days before the incident. The mother said the teen told her he was happy, even though he was living away.

Local officials previously said that 91 students were still trapped, as previously reported by PEOPLE, though this number was revised to 59 on Wednesday, per CNN. 

In a statement on Instagram on Wednesday (translated from Indonesian), the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) gave details of the rescue efforts and stressed “every second counts.” 

“Let’s pray together that the whole search process goes smoothly and that the victims are found soon,” the statement added, confirming that the building was four stories tall.

Many of those trapped were believed to be boys aged between 12 and 17, Sky News previously reported.

On Wednesday, Yudhi Bramantyo, the director of operations at Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) told CNN that rescuers have detected no further signs of life.

“All victims who were able to communicate with the rescue team have already been evacuated today from two different search sectors,” Bramantyo said.

Thermal cameras have also been used to search the rubble, but nothing has been detected, per the outlet.

Local officials have now met with family members and agreed to begin using machinery to move the rubble and start recovering bodies.

The incident reportedly happened during the Islamic school’s afternoon prayers, and the school collapsed as construction work was taking place at the site on Monday, the BBC and Reuters previously reported. A police spokesperson told Sky News that building works were “unauthorized.”

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According to local newspaper Kompas, a total of 102 people were evacuated from the collapsed building.