Death toll rises to 37 at collapsed school building in Indonesia

ISTANBUL

The death toll from a collapsed school building in Indonesia’s East Java province rose to 37 on Sunday, as rescue teams continued to search for dozens of students trapped under the rubble.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that 12 bodies and one additional body part were recovered on Sunday, bringing the total fatalities to 37. This lowered the number of missing persons to 26, though the figure remains uncertain, based on the student attendance list provided by the Islamic boarding school.

Over 60% of the debris has been cleared, but teams faced obstacles, including a piece of concrete connected to a neighboring building.

Abdul Muhari, head of the BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, said 167 students were affected, of whom 104 have been found safe. Fourteen survivors are receiving treatment at hospitals, 89 have been discharged, and one has been transferred to another facility.

Hundreds of students, mostly teenage boys, were inside the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday, killing at least five students initially and injuring around 100.