Rescue teams are continuing to search for 15 pupils still trapped beneath a collapsed school in Indonesia.

The students were gathered for late afternoon prayers in a mosque on the ground floor when the upper floors collapsed on Tuesday, September 30.

They were buried under metal bars and concrete slabs, with at least five confirmed dead at the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo Regency, East Java. Five others were rescued on Wednesday.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) initially reported that 91 people might have been buried under the rubble. However, this number was later revised after some survivors and those absent were accounted for.

Abdul Muhari, Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, said: 'As many as 59 people are still trapped in the rubble. This figure was obtained from the attendance list released by the Islamic boarding school, including reports of missing persons from the victims' families.'

Rescue efforts are currently focused on 15 identified locations where victims are trapped. Of these, eight are presumed deceased and seven are critically injured.

One responsive victim is trapped under a building, landing in sector A1, and rescuers are tunneling from below to reach him.

A crane and backhoe have been brought in to assist the search, although heavy equipment use is limited due to concerns about further collapse.

The building has been under construction for the past nine to 10 months despite allegedly not having proper authorisation.

Sidoarjo Regent Subandi urged contractors to complete the necessary permits before construction, to prevent similar cases from happening.

He said: 'We would like to remind again that any construction without the necessary permits will be halted. We do not want this disaster to happen again.'

Indonesia struggles with lax construction standards, where weak enforcement of building codes and widespread use of substandard materials contribute to unsafe structures. It is also a common practice to leave buildings partially completed, with construction resuming only when budgets permit.