JAKARTA - The death toll from the collapse of a school building in Indonesia's East Java province has risen to 37, regional rescue authorities said Sunday.
Nanang Sigit, head of the East Java Search and Rescue Office, said in a statement issued by the office that the excavation work has been challenging as victims were buried under the rubble.
About 25 people remain missing, and the death toll is expected to rise. Part of the multi-storey Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo district caved in on Monday during unauthorized renovation, trapping dozens of students.
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Rescuers deployed heavy machinery on Thursday 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.
