News Agency
The death count from the collapse of an Indonesian school has escalated to 54, as confirmed by officials, with emergency responders still looking for more than a dozen missing individuals.
Hundreds pupils, mostly teenage boys, had gathered for prayers at the Islamic boarding school in East Java when the structure collapsed while being renovated.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency characterizes this as the nation's most fatal disaster this year. Rescue personnel are anticipated to conclude their rescue mission for 13 victims trapped beneath the rubble by evening.
Probe Ongoing into Structural Failure
Authorities are still examining the reason behind the collapse. Certain authorities indicated the two-level structure collapsed due to an unstable foundation.
"Among all the disasters in 2025, whether natural or man-made, there has not occurred as numerous fatalities as the ones in Sidoarjo," declared a deputy from the emergency management authority during a press conference.
The total count includes at least two people who were extracted from the debris but later succumbed in hospital.
Institutional Context and Regulatory Concerns
The institution is a conventional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, referred to as a pesantren.
Numerous Islamic schools function informally, without strong regulation or regular inspections. It remains unclear whether the school had proper authorization to conduct building modifications.
Operational Difficulties
Search and rescue operations have proven challenging due to the manner the building fell, creating narrow voids for rescuers to operate within, authorities reported previously.
Survivor Accounts
Survivors have recounted their terrifying survival stories with local media.
One 13-year-old eyewitness recalled first "noticing the noise of collapsing materials", which "grew louder and more intense".
The young person quickly rushed for the doorway, and while he managed to escape, he was injured by falling debris from the roof.
