Jakarta. A prayer hall collapsed at Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Buduran, Sidoarjo, East Java, on Monday afternoon, leaving scores of students trapped as rescue operations continued into the night.

The incident occurred around 2:40 p.m. local time as more than 100 students were performing prayers in the second-floor prayer hall, witnesses said. Emergency teams rushed to the scene with heavy machinery to search for survivors beneath the rubble.

“We felt the floor shaking, and suddenly one side of the prayer hall gave way, followed by the rest of the structure,” said Wahid, a seventh-grade student who managed to escape and alert others.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes as panicked students ran out of the building while others cried for help. Within minutes, ambulances streamed into the compound to evacuate the injured to nearby hospitals and clinics.

By Monday evening, authorities had yet to confirm the number of casualties. Families of the students gathered outside the boarding school, anxiously awaiting news of their children.

Local officials said the rescue and identification process could take several more hours as responders continued to clear debris.

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