🔗 Share this article Catastrophe Deepens as Indonesia Educational Institution Structural Failure Death Toll Increases to 54 Media Source Hundreds teenage boys had assembled for prayers at the Islamic boarding school in Eastern Java when it collapsed last Monday The death count from the collapse of an educational facility in Indonesia has climbed to 54, according to authorities, with rescue teams continuing their search for more than a dozen missing individuals. Numerous pupils, primarily teenage boys, had gathered for prayers at the religious educational institution in Eastern Java when the structure gave way while undergoing construction. Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency describes this as the nation's most fatal catastrophe this year. Emergency workers are expected to conclude their rescue mission for thirteen individuals ensnared beneath the rubble by evening. Probe Ongoing into Structural Failure Investigators are still examining the cause behind the structural failure. Some officials indicated the two-level structure caved in due to an unstable foundation. "Among all the disasters in 2025, natural or not, there has not occurred as many dead victims as the ones in Sidoarjo," stated a deputy from the disaster mitigation agency during a press conference. The total count encompasses at least two people who were rescued from the rubble but subsequently succumbed in hospital. School Background and Oversight Issues The facility is a conventional religious educational center in Indonesia, commonly known as a pesantren. Many pesantren operate informally, without strong regulation or consistent monitoring. It remains uncertain whether the school had proper authorization to conduct additional construction. Rescue Challenges Emergency response efforts have proven challenging due to the way the structure collapsed, leaving only tight spaces for rescuers to maneuver within, authorities stated last week. Eyewitness Reports Survivors have shared their harrowing survival stories with regional news outlets. One teenage eyewitness described first "noticing the noise of falling rocks", which "grew louder and more intense". The adolescent immediately ran for the doorway, and while he successfully got out, he was wounded by falling debris from the roof.