Tragedy Deepens as Indonesian Educational Institution Collapse Fatalities Increases to 54
News Agency
The death count from the collapse of an Indonesian school has escalated to 54, according to authorities, with rescue teams continuing their search for more than a dozen unaccounted persons.
Numerous students, primarily teenage boys, had gathered for prayers at the religious educational institution in East Java when the building gave way while undergoing construction.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency describes this as the nation's deadliest catastrophe in 2025. Rescue personnel are expected to complete their search operation for 13 victims trapped under debris by evening.
Probe Ongoing into Structural Failure
Investigators are continuing to probe the reason behind the structural failure. Some officials suggested the two-storey building collapsed due to an inadequate base.
"Out of all the catastrophes in 2025, natural or not, there has not occurred as numerous fatalities as the incident in Sidoarjo," stated a representative from the disaster mitigation agency during a media briefing.
The overall number includes at least two individuals who were extracted from the debris but subsequently succumbed in hospital.
School Background and Regulatory Concerns
The institution is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Many Islamic schools operate informally, lacking comprehensive oversight or regular inspections. It remains uncertain whether the institution had proper authorization to conduct building modifications.
Rescue Challenges
Emergency response efforts have proven challenging due to the way the structure collapsed, creating narrow voids for rescuers to operate within, officials stated previously.
Survivor Accounts
Those who escaped have shared their harrowing escape experiences with regional news outlets.
One 13-year-old survivor described first "noticing the noise of falling rocks", which "intensified and more intense".
The adolescent immediately ran for the exit, and while he successfully got out, he was injured by falling debris from the ceiling.
