🔗 Share this article Tragedy Worsens as Indonesian School Collapse Fatalities Increases to 54 News Agency Numerous teenage boys had assembled for prayers at the Islamic boarding school in Eastern Java when it collapsed recently The death count from the structural failure of an educational facility in Indonesia has escalated to 54, according to authorities, with emergency responders continuing their search for over twelve unaccounted persons. Hundreds pupils, mostly teenage boys, had assembled for religious services at the religious educational institution in East Java when the structure gave way while being renovated. Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency characterizes this as the country's deadliest disaster in 2025. Rescue personnel are anticipated to conclude their search operation for 13 victims ensnared under debris by evening. Probe Underway into Structural Failure Investigators are still examining the cause behind the collapse. Certain authorities indicated the two-storey building collapsed due to an inadequate base. "Among all the disasters in 2025, natural or not, there hasn't been as many dead victims as the incident in Sidoarjo," stated a deputy from the emergency management authority during a media briefing. The overall number encompasses at least two individuals who were rescued from the debris but subsequently succumbed in hospital. School Background and Oversight Issues The facility is a conventional religious educational center in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren. Numerous pesantren function without formal oversight, lacking comprehensive oversight or consistent monitoring. It remains unclear whether the school had proper authorization to conduct additional construction. Rescue Challenges Search and rescue operations have proven challenging due to the manner the building collapsed, leaving only narrow voids for rescuers to maneuver within, authorities reported previously. Eyewitness Reports Those who escaped have shared their harrowing survival stories with regional news outlets. One 13-year-old survivor recalled first "noticing the noise of collapsing materials", which "intensified and more intense". The adolescent immediately ran for the doorway, and while he successfully got out, he was wounded by collapsing materials from the ceiling.