1 of 2 | Rescuers search for survivors of a collapsed building at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, on September 30, 2025. File Photo by Fully Handoko/EPA
Emergency officials said there were no longer any signs of life Thursday at the site of a school building collapse where at least five people died.
The search for survivors at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo officially turned from a rescue to a recovery, according to CNN.
Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, told reporters that thermal drones were unable to detect any signs of life in the rubble of the building.
“Last night, we even [cleared] the area to ensure silence,” he said, according to the BBC.
Rescuers “hoped that with the use of sophisticated equipment … we might hear some signs of life.
“Scientifically, no signs of life were found.”
Officials said 59 people were missing from the school as of Thursday morning. They were able to pull seven boys from the rubble Wednesday, two of whom were dead.
The top floor of the building collapsed onto students praying below as construction workers poured concrete Monday. The disaster mitigation agency said the building’s foundation was too unstable to support the addition of new floors.
The town regent also said the school hadn’t secured a permit to add the additional floors to the building.
Rescue workers had been wary of removing some of the rubble, worried it might further collapse and injure or kill students still trapped. Suharyanto said that after no signs of life were found Thursday, workers were ready to begin using heavy equipment to remove some of the larger pieces of rubble.
