Indonesia ends search at collapsed school as death toll reaches 61

Indonesian authorities have ended rescue operations on Tuesday at the collapsed Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo in East Java, where 61 people were confirmed dead in the country's deadliest disaster this year.

The collapse occurred during afternoon prayers, when the building caved in on hundreds of students—mostly teenage boys—though most managed to escape.

Seven additional body parts, including severed limbs, were also found and are undergoing identification, the national disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

"Operations due to the collapsed structure of the Al Khoziny school ... are officially closed," said Mohammad Syafii, chief of the local search and rescue agency.

Heavy machinery was used to remove concrete debris while rescuers dug through rubble and called out the names of presumed survivors.

The government has called the incident the deadliest in Indonesia this year.

Al Khoziny is one of more than 42,000 Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, across the country. According to the public works ministry, only about 50 of them have official building permits.

Reuters was unable to confirm whether Al Khoziny was licensed, but local media last week quoted Sidoarjo regent Subandi as saying it allegedly lacked a permit. School officials have not commented publicly.

The cause of the collapse has not been officially confirmed, though early reports suggest foundational failures.

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