The call to prayer echoed over the densely packed homes of Sidoarjo, Indonesia, on a typical Monday afternoon. At the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, teenage students gathered for prayer when disaster struck.

Fourteen-year-old Mohammad Fathulbari recalled the moment: "During the Qur'an reading before the prayer, I noticed something falling from the ceiling. But I brushed it off, thinking maybe it wasn't concrete, just something else dropping." More than 160 children were inside the two-story building when it began to collapse.

"Suddenly, the ground shook — it felt like an earthquake," Mohammad said. He ran toward the front of the mosque, where the imam was located. "Kids were crying everywhere. I couldn't see any way out, but some guys smashed through a wall, and that's how we all got out."

In the chaos, about 90 children managed to escape, but many were injured by falling debris. Mohammad searched for his cousin, Rizal, but was pulled back by friends. "I cried while searching, screaming his name, but he never answered," he said.

The tragedy has left many traumatized and has ignited calls for stricter construction regulations, especially in Indonesia's schools. Al Khoziny is one of the many pesantren, or religious boarding schools, that often operate with minimal government oversight. The death toll from the collapse has risen to 66, according to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency.

In the aftermath, BASARNAS, Indonesia's national rescue agency, initiated a large-scale search and rescue operation. While some children were quickly located, rescuers faced a daunting task to find others within the critical 72-hour window after the disaster. BASARNAS officials described the building's collapse as resembling a "pancake."

Emi Freezer from BASARNAS explained, "In mosques, prayer areas are wide open spaces, so when it collapsed, there was nothing in between. We couldn't send in big teams. The level of difficulty was very high, and the working space was incredibly narrow, making it tough for rescuers."

Rescue crews worked tirelessly, using hand tools to avoid further collapses. Rescuer Nur Hadi Santoso recalled a moment when he heard a boy's scream. "I created a small opening and ran a drinking hose through. He took the hose and shared the water with his friends," he said.

After 48 hours, five children were rescued, bringing relief to the rescuers. "Thank God. The moment I saw the faces of those boys for the first time, all the fatigue just vanished. It was a real surge of energy," Nur Hadi said.

Since the collapse, families have gathered near the school, anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones. By Thursday morning, however, no signs of life were detected under the rubble. The Disaster Mitigation Agency announced that the operation would shift to a recovery mission for the deceased.

Families held prayers, mourning their lost children. Ayuli, the aunt of 16-year-old Mohammad Rizki Saputra, expressed her grief: "He's such a good boy, he's so handsome. We're in such shock because he's such a good boy. We're not blaming anyone… we're religious people and we believe we each have our own destiny."

The incident has raised alarms about construction safety in Indonesia. A spokesperson from the Disaster Mitigation Agency noted that this was the first building collapse without an earthquake as a trigger, calling it an "eye-opener."

Mudji Irmawan, a structural engineering expert, stated, "Too often, people either ignore the national standard or fail to use it as a reference during construction. Only then do they realize why these codes exist in the first place."

In response to the tragedy, Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister has promised to ensure that pesantren construction complies with safety standards. Reports indicate that only 50 of the thousands of pesantren in the country have building permits.

Irmawan emphasized the need for immediate action: "This incident should serve as a hard lesson for all of us. Personally, I was devastated. I cried when I saw the rubble of that collapsed building. The key message is this: we can't wait for more casualties before we act."