The death toll from an Indonesian school collapse rose to 63 on Monday, as workers pulled more remains from the rubble of the building that collapsed last week.
The multi-story Islamic boarding school on Indonesia’s Java Island collapsed while more than 150 students gathered for afternoon prayers.
Around half a dozen teenagers are still unaccounted for.
“We hope we can conclude the recovery today (Monday), and we will return the bodies (to the families),” National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) operations director Yudhi Bramantyo told a press conference Monday.
Budi Irawan, deputy head of Indonesia’s national disaster agency (BNPB), claimed the collapse was the country’s deadliest tragedy so far this year.
Investigators are looking into the reason for the collapse, but preliminary findings suggest that inadequate construction may have contributed to the catastrophe, according to experts.
The families of the missing agreed last Thursday that heavy equipment would be utilized after the 72-hour “golden period” for the best chance of life had expired.
Lax construction rules have sparked widespread worry about building safety in Indonesia.
In September, a building holding a prayer recital collapsed in West Java, killing at least three people and injuring scores more.
