The death toll from the Indonesia school collapse has risen to 54, with rescuers still searching for over a dozen missing people. The Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java’s Sidoarjo Regency collapsed on September 29 while students were gathered for afternoon prayers.
54 people have lost their lives, including five body parts recovered from the rubble. 13 individuals remain unaccounted for, with rescuers working tirelessly to locate them. The search operation is challenging due to the building’s collapse, which has left narrow voids for rescuers to maneuver.
Heavy machinery has been deployed to aid in the search. Authorities suspect poor construction practices and unstable foundation may have contributed to the collapse.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency has stated that this incident is the country’s deadliest disaster of the year so far claiming so many lives.
“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, said in a press conference.
