JAKARTA, Oct 5 — The death toll from the collapse of a school building in Indonesia's East Java province has risen to 37, Xinhua reported, citing regional rescue authorities.
East Java Search and Rescue Office head Nanang Sigit said that the excavation work has been challenging, as victims were buried under the rubble.
In a statement issued by the office, he noted that 25 people remain missing, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Part of the multi-storey Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the Sidoarjo district caved in on Monday during unauthorised renovation, trapping dozens of students.
Rescuers deployed heavy machinery on Thursday (October 2) after no further signs of life were detected. Earlier, they had relied mainly on manual excavation out of concern that heavy equipment could cause further collapse.
