Sidoarjo, East Java. The death toll from the collapse of a prayer hall at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, rose to 17 as rescue teams recovered three more bodies on Saturday, six days after the disaster.

Yudhi Bramantyo, Director of Search and Rescue Operations at Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), said two of the latest victims were found in the ablution area of the prayer hall at 2:35 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Jakarta time, while another was recovered from a separate sector.

“On the sixth day of operations, the team successfully evacuated three victims, two from Sector 2, which covers the ablution area, and one from Sector 1,” Yudhi said.

He added that debris removal efforts were now focused on the northern section of the prayer hall, which was not part of the building’s main structure. Heavy machinery remains in use to speed up the search for any victims still trapped under the rubble.

As of Saturday, rescuers have recovered a total of 121 victims from the site. Of those, 104 survived, while 17 have been confirmed dead.

Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the building’s collapse, which occurred during a crowded prayer session earlier in the week, trapping dozens of students beneath the debris.

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