Death toll up to 54 in Java school prayer hall tragedy

Indonesian rescuers searching for missing students after a prayer hall at an Islamic boarding school collapsed last week recovered the bodies of dozens of students over the weekend, bringing the confirmed death toll to 54.

- Associated Press

Using heavy excavators equipped with jackhammers, circular saws and sometimes their bare hands, rescue teams removed tonnes of rubble in an attempt to find the 14 students reportedly still missing.

Rescuers had found 35 bodies over the weekend alone, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said.