Sidoarjo, East Java. Indonesian authorities confirmed on Sunday night that 46 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of Pondok Pesantren Al Khoziny, a boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, a week after the building collapsed and buried more than 140 students who were praying on the ground floor.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the death toll rose sharply after rescuers began using heavy machinery, including concrete breakers and excavators, to dig deeper into the debris starting on October 2. Rescue teams had earlier relied on sound and heat detectors, which showed no signs of life beneath the rubble by the fourth day after the collapse.

“Each body found brings a measure of closure to families waiting for answers,” said Abdul Muhari, Head of BNPB’s Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Center, in a written statement.

On Sunday alone, 21 victims were recovered -- the highest daily number since the search began. The previous recoveries included three bodies on Wednesday, two on Thursday, nine on Friday, and 11 on Saturday.

“These figures show the hard work of the joint SAR teams is paying off as access to the buried areas improves,” Abdul said.

Police disaster victim identification (DVI) teams are now working to identify the recovered remains, many of which were found under collapsed sections of the four-story structure.

Abdul noted that while standard search and rescue operations typically last seven days, the mission will continue until all victims are found.

“Since no signs of life were detected after the fourth day, the operation has focused on body recovery. The team will keep working until everyone is accounted for,” he said.

He added that BNPB, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Health Ministry, local authorities, and volunteers remain on-site full-time. Officials estimate around 20 victims are still missing under the debris.

The building collapsed on September 29, during concrete work to expand the school from a single-story structure into a three-story complex. The tragedy has drawn public outrage toward both the school’s management and the contractor responsible for the project.

Sidoarjo Regent Subandi said the renovation had no official construction permit, despite plans to house hundreds of students.

Structural engineering expert Mudji Irmawan from the Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) said the collapse was likely caused by severe overloading.

“The building was originally designed for one floor. Forcing it into three floors increased the structural load by 200 --300 percent, which the base could not sustain,” Mudji told local media.

He also criticized the decision to continue school activities during the renovation.

“An unfinished structure is inherently unstable, yet the ground floor was still being used for learning,” he said.

Police have launched an investigation into the collapse but have not yet named any suspects. 

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