Catastrophe Worsens as Indonesian Educational Institution Structural Failure Death Toll Increases to 54
News Agency
The death count from the structural failure of an Indonesian school has escalated to 54, as confirmed by officials, with emergency responders still looking for over twelve missing individuals.
Numerous pupils, primarily adolescent males, had gathered for religious services at the Islamic boarding school in East Java when the building collapsed while undergoing construction.
The country's emergency management authority describes this as the country's deadliest catastrophe this year. Rescue personnel are expected to conclude their search operation for 13 victims trapped beneath the rubble by evening.
Investigation Ongoing into Collapse Cause
Investigators are continuing to probe the cause behind the structural failure. Certain authorities indicated the two-storey building collapsed due to an unstable foundation.
"Among all the catastrophes in 2025, whether natural or man-made, there has not occurred as many dead victims as the incident in Sidoarjo," declared a representative from the disaster mitigation agency during a media briefing.
The overall number encompasses at least two individuals who were extracted from the debris but later succumbed in hospital.
School Background and Regulatory Concerns
The institution is a traditional religious educational center in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Numerous Islamic schools function informally, lacking strong regulation or regular inspections. It remains unclear whether the institution had proper authorization to undertake additional construction.
Operational Difficulties
Search and rescue operations have proven challenging due to the way the building fell, leaving only narrow voids for rescuers to maneuver within, officials reported last week.
Eyewitness Reports
Those who escaped have shared their harrowing survival stories with local media.
One 13-year-old survivor recalled first "hearing the noise of falling rocks", which "intensified and louder".
The young person quickly rushed for the exit, and while he managed to escape, he was wounded by falling debris from the ceiling.
