'It seems impossible': Mother's hope for son's life dims after Indonesia school collapseMembers of the search and rescue operations carry a relative of the victim of a collapsed building, after a hall collapsed while students were praying at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school on Monday, in Sidoarjo, East Java province, Indonesia, Oct 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dipta WahyuThe anxiety gripped Jayanti Mandasari as soon as she got off the phone with her son M. Muhfi Alfian on Monday. Authorities said the school collapsed because its foundations could not support ongoing construction work on the upper floors. There are 42,000 such schools across Indonesia, known locally as a pesantren, serving about 7 million students, data from Indonesia's religious affairs ministry shows. Jayanti said she is so traumatised she will not be sending her other children to the school.
