Indonesian rescuers hunt 38 missing after Islamic school collapse

Search and rescue officers search for victims in the rubble of a collapsed building at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Indonesian rescuers were scrambling on Tuesday to locate 38 people feared trapped under rubble after an Islamic boarding school collapsed in the province of East Java while dozens were at afternoon prayer, disaster mitigation authorities said.

One person was killed and 102 evacuated in Monday's incident at the Al Khoziny school in the town of Sidoarjo when the unstable building collapsed during construction, the disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

"This sudden occurrence caused building material to fall on dozens of students and workers," agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said.

A bulldozer was among the heavy equipment he said searchers were using to shift the rubble, while nearly 80 injured were taken to hospital.

Video images from news channel KompasTV showed families of students clustered around a whiteboard looking at a list of survivors.

The agency said the building's foundations allegedly could not support the weight of construction on its fourth floor.