Sidoarjo, Indonesia – Sixteen-year-old Muhammad Royhan Firdaus had just finished praying on the first floor of the Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Javan city of Sidoarjo on Monday when something struck him on the head.When he looked up, he saw pieces of the ceiling falling upon him and the other boys, all aged 12 to 18.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“I thought it was an earthquake,” he said. “We all started to run.”But it wasn’t an earthquake.For several weeks, construction work had been taking place at the school, where builders were pouring concrete on two upper floors. The weight of the concrete caused the building to collapse in layers that Indonesian officials described as resembling a “pancake”.Muhammad fell several times as he fled and was hit by debris, including large chunks of crumbling cement. Fuelled by adrenaline, he said he felt “nothing at the time” but once he was outside and had collapsed on the ground, he realised his leg was broken. He had also fractured his shoulder so severely that doctors at Siti Fajar Hospital in Sidoarjo had to insert a metal pin to hold it together.While more than 100 students managed to flee the building, as of Sunday, the number confirmed killed had risen to 40.Rescue teams are still trying to recover bodies, with about 27 more students thought to be under the rubble. On Thursday, it was announced that thermal drones had found “no further signs of life”.‘A tragic accident’In the aftermath o …
