Foreign

Indonesia School Collapse: Death Toll Rises to 54

By Web News 499

The death toll from the collapse of a school in Indonesia has risen to 54, with rescuers still searching for more than a dozen missing people.

Hundreds of students, mostly 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 says it is the country’s deadliest disaster this 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. Some officials said the two-storey building caved in because its foundation was unstable.

A Deputy at the disaster mitigation agency, Budi Irawan, told a press conference, that “Out of all the disasters in 2025, natural or not, there hasn’t been as many dead victims as the ones in Sidoarjo,”

The toll includes at least two persons who were freed from the debris but later died in hospital.

Al Khoziny is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia known as a Pesantren.

Many Pesantren operate informally, without strong regulation or consistent monitoring. It is unclear if Al Khoziny had a permit to undertake additional construction.

According to reports, search and rescue operations have been challenging because of the way the building had collapsed, leaving only narrow voids for rescuers to maneuver in.

Survivors have spoken of their harrowing escapes to local media.

13-year-old Muhammad Rijalul Qoib, told Detik News he first “heard the sound of falling rocks”, which “got louder and louder”.

The boy ran for the door immediately, and while he managed to escape, he was wounded by falling debris from the roof.

BBC/ Adebukola Aluko

Foreign

Dozens Feared Dead in Indonesia School Collapse

By Web News 311

Rescuers have said there are “no signs of life” under the wreckage of a collapsed Indonesian school where 59 people are still missing .

Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the two-storey Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday. At least five students were killed and about 100 injured, officials said.

Thirteen people have been freed from the debris since rescue efforts began, though two later died in hospital. Rescue operations had been challenging due to the unstable structure of the building.

On Thursday, the disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) said rescuers using thermal drones failed to detect signs of life from the rubble.

“Last night, we even [cleared] the area to ensure silence. [We] hoped that with the use of sophisticated equipment… we might hear some signs of life,” Lt Gen Suharyanto, the head of the BNBP said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

“Scientifically, no signs of life were found.”

He added that the team had decided to move on to the “next phase” of operations – using heavy equipment to move slabs of concrete. These debris blocks will either be lifted using cranes or cut into smaller pieces.

Rescuers had not been able to do this earlier as there were fears it could lead the building to collapse further, risking the lives of any possible survivors.

Authorities had on Wednesday said crying and shouting could still be heard from under the rubble.

Anxious families are waiting at the school, many of them tearful but holding out hope that their loved ones are still alive.

“I am hoping for the best news, that my brother survives,” said Maulana Bayu Rizky Pratama, whose 17-year-old brother is missing, told AFP news agency. “I hope my brother will be found soon. I feel sad thinking of him being down there for four days.”

Ahmad Ikhsan, 52, told Reuters: “I believe my son is still alive.”

The BNBP said on Wednesday that 59 people were still trapped in the rubble, though this figure has fluctuated greatly over the past few days, with Suharyanto earlier saying that data would always be “conflicting” in the “early stages” of a disaster.

The building was under construction when it collapsed, with two extra floors being added. The BNBP later said that the building’s unstable foundation meant it could not support this weight.

Sidoarjo town’s regent says the school’s management had not obtained permits to add more floors to the building.

BBC/Adebukola Aluko