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News Agency

The number of fatalities from the collapse of an Indonesian school has escalated to 54, as confirmed by officials, with rescue teams continuing their search for more than a dozen unaccounted persons.

Hundreds pupils, primarily teenage boys, had gathered for prayers at the religious educational institution in East Java when the structure collapsed while being renovated.

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency characterizes this as the country's deadliest catastrophe in 2025. Rescue personnel are expected to conclude their search operation for 13 victims trapped beneath the rubble by evening.

Probe Underway into Structural Failure

Authorities are continuing to probe the cause behind the structural failure. Some officials suggested the two-level structure collapsed due to an unstable foundation.

"Among all the catastrophes in 2025, natural or not, there hasn't been as many dead victims as the ones in Sidoarjo," declared a representative from the disaster mitigation agency during a media briefing.

The overall number includes at least two people who were rescued from the rubble but subsequently succumbed in hospital.

School Background and Oversight Issues

The institution is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, referred to as a pesantren.

Many pesantren function informally, lacking strong regulation or regular inspections. It remains uncertain whether the school had necessary permits to undertake additional construction.

Rescue Challenges

Emergency response efforts have proven challenging due to the way the building collapsed, creating narrow voids for rescuers to operate within, authorities stated previously.

Survivor Accounts

Survivors have shared their terrifying escape experiences with local media.

One 13-year-old survivor described first "noticing the sound of collapsing materials", which "grew louder and louder".

The young person quickly rushed for the doorway, and while he successfully got out, he was wounded by falling debris from the roof.