Sidoarjo
The death toll from a tragic school collapse in Indonesia’s East Java rose to 37 on Sunday as rescuers continued recovering victims from the rubble. The incident happened on Monday when part of a multi-storey building at an Islamic boarding school collapsed during afternoon prayers.
National search and rescue agency operations director Yudhi Bramantyo said 141 people have been rescued so far. Of them, 104 are safe, 37 have died, and 26 remain missing. The death count includes a body part recovered on Saturday.
Budi Irawan, a national disaster agency official, said the recovery operation was about 60 per cent complete and expressed hope it would finish soon. “Our hope is that by tomorrow everything will be levelled so we can determine the approximate number of victims still in the rubble,” he said.
Nanang Sigit, head of the local rescue agency, confirmed the rising death toll in a separate statement. Investigations suggest substandard construction may have caused the collapse. Rescue work has been challenging, as vibrations in one area risk disturbing others. Families of the missing earlier agreed to allow heavy machinery after the critical 72-hour survival window had passed.
The operation continues under difficult conditions, as rescuers work to recover those still trapped while investigating the tragedy’s cause. This incident has left the local community grieving and searching for answers, raising concerns about construction safety standards.
