Catastrophe Worsens as Indonesia Educational Institution Collapse Fatalities Rises to 54
News Agency
The death count from the collapse of an Indonesian school has climbed to 54, according to authorities, with emergency responders still looking for more than a dozen missing individuals.
Hundreds pupils, primarily adolescent males, had gathered for prayers at the religious educational institution in East Java when the building collapsed while being renovated.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency describes this as the nation's deadliest catastrophe in 2025. Rescue personnel are anticipated to complete their rescue mission for thirteen individuals trapped beneath the rubble by day's end.
Investigation Ongoing into Structural Failure
Investigators are still examining the reason behind the structural failure. Certain authorities indicated the two-storey building collapsed due to an inadequate base.
"Among all the catastrophes in 2025, whether natural or man-made, 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 total count includes at least two individuals who were extracted from the rubble but subsequently died in hospital.
Institutional Context and Oversight Issues
The facility is a conventional religious educational center in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Numerous Islamic schools function without formal oversight, lacking strong regulation or consistent monitoring. It remains uncertain whether the school had proper authorization to conduct additional construction.
Rescue Challenges
Search and rescue operations have proven challenging due to the manner the structure fell, leaving only narrow voids for emergency personnel to maneuver within, authorities stated previously.
Survivor Accounts
Those who escaped have recounted their harrowing escape experiences with regional news outlets.
One 13-year-old survivor recalled first "noticing the noise of falling rocks", which "grew louder and more intense".
The young person immediately ran for the doorway, and while he managed to escape, he was wounded by falling debris from the roof.
