East Java Police Examine 17 Witnesses In The Collapse Of Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School

The East Java Regional Police held a press conference on the legal process related to the collapse of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Surabaya, Wednesday (8/10/2025). (ANTARA/Willi Irawan)

SURABAYA - The East Java Regional Police examined 17 witnesses related to the investigation into the collapse of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School (Ponpes) building in Buduran, Sidoarjo on Monday (29/9) which killed dozens of students.

East Java Police Chief Inspector General Nanang Avianto said the examination of dozens of witnesses was carried out to explore the cause of the failure of the construction of the collapsed men's dormitory prayer room building.

"We have examined about 17 witnesses and that number can still increase. Follow-up examinations will involve parties responsible for development and a number of experts," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 8.

Inspector General Nanang explained that his party also formed a team consisting of the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimum) and the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) of the East Java Police.

The team will hold a case to increase the status of the investigation to investigation.

In this case, the police ensnared alleged violations of Articles 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) regarding negligence that caused death and injury, as well as Article 46 paragraph (3) and Article 47 paragraph (2) of Law Number 28 of 2002 concerning Buildings.

The results of the preliminary examination show strong indications of negligence in the construction process and supervision of the building structure.

From the start, we suspected that construction failure was the main cause. Therefore, we involve civil engineering experts and building experts to provide official analysis," he said.

Investigations were also carried out on building planning documents and permits.

The police will determine whether the building meets technical standards as stipulated in Law Number 28 of 2002 concerning Buildings.

Inspector General Nanang emphasized that the legal process will run transparently because he wants this case to be a lesson so that every development has careful planning and supervision.

Everyone has the same position before the law. Anyone who is proven negligent will be held accountable," he said.

The police recorded a total of 171 victims, consisting of 67 body bags, 34 of whom have been identified and 104 survivors who are currently recovering.