The death toll from the collapse of a school in Indonesia has risen to 54, authorities said, with rescuers still searching for more than a dozen missing people.
Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, had gathered for prayers at the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java when it collapsed last Monday while undergoing construction.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency states that this incident marks the country's deadliest disaster of the year. Rescuers are expected to complete their search for 13 victims trapped under the rubble by the end of the day.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the collapse, with some officials suggesting the two-storey building caved in due to an unstable foundation.
Out of all the disasters in 2025, natural or not, there hasn't been as many dead victims as the ones in Sidoarjo, Budi Irawan, a deputy at the disaster mitigation agency, mentioned at a press conference.
The toll includes at least two individuals who were rescued but later succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Al Khoziny is a traditional Islamic boarding school known as a pesantren, with many operating informally, which raises concerns regarding regulatory oversight. It remains unclear whether Al Khoziny had appropriate permits for the construction they were undertaking.
Rescue operations have faced difficulties due to the collapsed structure leaving only narrow voids for access.
Survivors described harrowing experiences during the disaster. One survivor, Muhammad Rijalul Qoib, shared his close call, stating he heard a loud noise resembling falling rocks. He managed a narrow escape, although he sustained injuries from the debris.
