The death toll from the collapse of a boarding school in Indonesia’s East Java province has risen to 14, according to officials, as rescuers battle to recover dozens of students believed still buried under the rubble.
Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday, initially killing at least five students and injuring about 100.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Suharyanto told reporters on Saturday that rescuers found nine bodies on Friday, raising the death toll to 14.
“As of today, we are still searching for 49 people who are still missing,” said Suharyanto, who goes by one name, as reported by broadcaster Kompas TV.
More victims could be found, Suharyanto said,