Catastrophe Deepens as Indonesian Educational Institution Structural Failure Fatalities Rises to 54
Media Source
The death count from the collapse of an Indonesian school has climbed to 54, according to authorities, with rescue teams still looking for more than a dozen unaccounted persons.
Numerous pupils, mostly teenage boys, had assembled for prayers at the Islamic boarding school in East Java when the structure collapsed while undergoing construction.
The country's emergency management authority characterizes this as the country's most fatal disaster in 2025. Emergency workers are anticipated to conclude their search operation for 13 victims trapped under debris by day's end.
Probe Ongoing into Collapse Cause
Investigators are still examining the cause behind the collapse. Certain authorities indicated the two-level structure collapsed due to an inadequate base.
"Out of all the disasters in 2025, natural or not, there has not occurred as numerous fatalities as the incident in Sidoarjo," declared a representative from the disaster mitigation agency during a press conference.
The overall number encompasses at least two people who were rescued from the debris but later died in medical care.
Institutional Context and Oversight Issues
The institution is a conventional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Many pesantren operate without formal oversight, lacking comprehensive oversight or regular inspections. It remains uncertain whether the institution had proper authorization to undertake additional construction.
Operational Difficulties
Search and rescue operations have proven challenging due to the manner the structure collapsed, leaving only narrow voids for emergency personnel to maneuver within, authorities reported previously.
Survivor Accounts
Survivors have shared their harrowing survival stories with local media.
One 13-year-old survivor described first "hearing the sound of collapsing materials", which "intensified and more intense".
The young person immediately ran for the doorway, and while he managed to escape, he was injured by falling debris from the roof.
