The death toll from the Indonesian school collapse reached 54 on Monday, while the search for the missing continues near the incident site. Rescuers have cleared about 70 per cent of the debris near the site after the administration was allowed to use heavy machinery in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. The death toll now stands at 54, according to official sources.
The portion of the building of the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java's Sidoarjo town caved in on students, mostly teenage boys, who had gathered for afternoon prayers.
Meanwhile, the search for the missing 13 people has still been ongoing near the site for the past week. The school collapse has been the deadliest disaster this year. Late on Sunday night, rescuers recovered bodies and body parts of the victims as they used heavy excavating machines to clear 80 per cent of the debris.
Yudhi Bramantyo, an official from the search and rescue agency, said that five more body parts had been found, suggesting that the death toll is likely to be at least 54. Visuals shared by the rescuers and other assisting agencies were seen carrying orange body bags out of the rubble from the school building.
Also Read: Indonesia building collapse death toll rises to 14; many missing
"The number of victims is the biggest this year from one building," Budi Irawan, a deputy at the disaster mitigation agency, said. This is the worst out of all the disasters in 2025, natural or not; there haven't been as many dead victims as the ones in Sidoarjo," he added.
Meanwhile, a probe has been initiated to find out the cause of the collapse. Early reports and findings suggest that poor construction of the material and quality of work contributed to the incident.
While no arrests have been made so far, there are chances that people involved in the construction of the school building, accused of using poor construction material, may face serious charges, which can go up to a death sentence as per Indonesian law.
Also Read: Death toll from Indonesia building collapse rises to 37
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