Indonesia ends search for victims of boarding school collapse, 61 dead

Indonesian rescuers ended their search Tuesday after recovering 61 bodies from the rubble of the collapsed Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java’s Sidoarjo town.

The collapse, blamed on foundational failures, occurred during afternoon prayers and is considered the country’s deadliest disaster this year.

Authorities said all victims have been found, along with several unidentified body parts, marking the official close of recovery operations.

Most of the victims were teenage boys studying at the school, NBC News has reported.

The tragedy has drawn attention to Indonesia’s thousands of unregulated pesantren schools, with officials saying only a small fraction have proper building permits.