• The death toll from the East Java boarding school collapse has risen to at least 60, with debris clearance around 80% complete and ongoing rescue work.
• Authorities report at least 13 missing and note the survival window has passed; heavy equipment is now used in searches and investigations consider substandard construction.
• Indonesia hosts about 42,000 pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), with only around 50 known to have building permits, raising safety questions.
• Tallies from outlets have varied over the week, reflecting the scale of the disaster and ongoing recoveries.

The latest tallies place the toll at at least 60, with rescuers reporting that about 80% of the debris has been cleared and body parts have been recovered as part of ongoing recovery efforts in Sidoarjo, East Java. Officials described the disaster as the country’s deadliest this year and said the operation would continue as they work to conclude the recovery. “We hope we can conclude the recovery today, and we will return the bodies [to the families],” Bramantyo was quoted as saying. according to aljazeera.

Rescue teams have faced challenges with at least 13 people still unaccounted for, and authorities noted that the 72-hour survival window had passed, prompting continued use of heavy equipment. Investigations point to substandard construction as a possible factor, including concerns about the foundation’s ability to support upper floors, according to officials. Heavy equipment was authorized after the window had ended, and the search continued, according to trtglobal, channelnewsasia, and reuters.

Context around the number of such institutions is important: Indonesia has about 42,000 pesantren serving roughly 7 million students, a figure cited by multiple outlets and government data. It remains unclear whether Al Khoziny had a formal building permit for the upper-floor expansion, a point echoed by reporting from reuters, scmp, and bbc.

Across outlets, tallies have varied as recoveries continued, with early counts around the 36-plus range and later reports indicating numbers in the 54 range, and the latest updates reaching at least 60. This progression reflects the magnitude of the collapse and the challenge of locating all victims, as highlighted by reuters, scmp, and aljazeera.