Tragedy Worsens as Indonesia Educational Institution Structural Failure Fatalities Increases to 54
Media Source
The number of fatalities from the structural failure of an educational facility in Indonesia has escalated to 54, as confirmed by officials, with emergency responders still looking for more than a dozen missing individuals.
Hundreds students, mostly adolescent males, had assembled for prayers at the Islamic boarding school in Eastern Java when the building collapsed while undergoing construction.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency characterizes this as the nation's deadliest disaster this year. Rescue personnel are anticipated to conclude their rescue mission for 13 victims trapped under debris by day's end.
Probe Ongoing into Collapse Cause
Authorities are continuing to probe the reason behind the collapse. Certain authorities indicated the two-level structure collapsed due to an inadequate base.
"Out of all the disasters in 2025, whether natural or man-made, there has not occurred as many dead victims as the incident in Sidoarjo," declared a representative from the emergency management authority during a press conference.
The overall number includes at least two individuals who were rescued from the rubble but subsequently succumbed in hospital.
School Background and Regulatory Concerns
The facility is a conventional religious educational center in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren.
Numerous pesantren operate without formal oversight, lacking strong regulation or regular inspections. 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 way the building fell, creating narrow voids for emergency personnel to maneuver within, authorities reported previously.
Survivor Accounts
Those who escaped have recounted their harrowing survival stories with regional news outlets.
One 13-year-old eyewitness described first "hearing the sound of collapsing materials", which "intensified and louder".
The adolescent quickly rushed for the doorway, and while he successfully got out, he was injured by falling debris from the roof.
