Tragedy Worsens as Indonesian School Structural Failure Fatalities Increases to 54
Media Source
The death count from the collapse of an educational facility in Indonesia has climbed to 54, as confirmed by officials, with emergency responders still looking for more than a dozen unaccounted persons.
Numerous pupils, primarily teenage boys, had gathered for religious services at the religious educational institution in Eastern Java when the structure collapsed while undergoing construction.
The country's emergency management authority describes this as the nation's most fatal disaster in 2025. Rescue personnel are expected to conclude their rescue mission for thirteen individuals ensnared under debris by evening.
Probe Ongoing into Collapse Cause
Investigators are continuing to probe the cause behind the structural failure. Some officials indicated the two-level structure collapsed due to an inadequate base.
"Among all the disasters in 2025, whether natural or man-made, there has not occurred as numerous fatalities as the ones in Sidoarjo," declared a representative from the emergency management authority during a media briefing.
The total count encompasses at least two people who were rescued from the rubble but subsequently succumbed in medical care.
School Background and Regulatory Concerns
The facility is a conventional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Many pesantren operate informally, lacking comprehensive oversight or regular inspections. It remains unclear whether the school had proper authorization to conduct building modifications.
Rescue Challenges
Emergency response efforts have faced difficulties due to the way the structure collapsed, creating narrow voids for rescuers to operate within, officials reported previously.
Survivor Accounts
Those who escaped have recounted their terrifying escape experiences with local media.
One teenage eyewitness recalled first "hearing the noise of collapsing materials", which "grew louder and louder".
The young person quickly rushed for the doorway, and while he managed to escape, he was injured by falling debris from the roof.
