Mom Speaks Out as Son Remains Missing After Boarding School Collapse

As the death toll continues to rise after a boarding school in Indonesia collapsed, more than 50 young students remain missing — but hopes for finding any more survivors has dimmed.

The Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, located in Sidoarjo, which is about 485 miles east of the country’s capital, crumbled on Monday, Sept. 29. 

There were 105 survivors, including a 13-year-old boy named Rizalul Qoib, according to the Associated Press. By Friday, Oct. 3, the death toll increased to 10 as emergency workers continued searching for the dozens of missing students.

Although efforts continue, emergency responders say their mission has shifted from rescue to recovery after using thermal drones and other tools to search for anyone who might still be alive underneath the rubble, The New York Times reported.

“We did not detect any signs of life, so the joint team finally decided to enter the next stage, the search and evacuation stage, using heavy equipment,” Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, the leader of the National Disaster Management Agency, announced during a news conference, according to the newspaper.

Speaking with Reuters for a story published on Friday, Oct. 3, Jayanti Mandasari said that she talked to her son, M. Muhfi Alfian, before the collapse on Monday. After hanging up, she told the news agency that she had a bad feeling — and now, as the days stretch on, she’s losing hope that he’ll be found alive. 

“Right now, it seems impossible. Maybe God took him gently,” she said.

Speaking with the AP about surviving the collapse, Rizalul Qoib said that he was praying when he “felt the floor sharking.”

“Suddenly the building collapsed, the debris of the roof fell on my head, my face,” he said.

He managed to move toward the sound of someone’s voice guiding him away from the wreckage, then located a small gap in the debris and “followed the light” to safety.

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In a statement on Instagram on Wednesday, which was 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,” they added.

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