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Indonesian first responders found many further bodies over the recent period, increasing the confirmed fatality count to 49 after a worship space at an Islamic boarding school fell down last week.

Intensive Rescue Operations Underway

Employing construction equipment outfitted with demolition tools, circular saws and occasionally their bare hands, responders removed large quantities of wreckage in a desperate bid to discover the 14 students reportedly still unaccounted for. Emergency workers found 35 bodies over the past few days alone, according to the national emergency authority.

Timeline of the Tragic Incident

The construction collapsed on top of numerous of scholars – mainly young men aged 12 to 19 – on 29 September at the historic school in Sidoarjo. Of those extracted, 97 were treated for various wounds and sent home. Six others sustained critical wounds and continued to be hospitalised on Sunday.

Origin of Building Failure Uncovered

Law enforcement allege that two levels were being constructed to the original structure without a permit, causing structural failure. This has provoked broad public fury over unauthorized building in the nation.

“The construction failed to withstand the pressure while the cement was being placed [to build] the third floor because it violated safety requirements and the entire 800-square-metres construction fell down,” explained a construction expert from Tenth November Institute of Technology.

The professional also noted that students ought not to have been permitted inside a facility under construction.

Government Response

The local district head confirmed the educational facility's leadership had not requested the required authorization before starting the project.

“Various constructions, among them conventional boarding school extensions, in countryside locations were built without a construction license,” the official commented.

Judicial Implications

The country's building safety laws dictate that permits have to be provided by the appropriate agencies before any construction, or else proprietors confront fines and incarceration. If a breach results in death, this can culminate in up to 15 years in prison and a penalty of up to 8bn rupiah (nearly $500,000).

Address from Facility Management

The institution's manager, a prominent Islamic cleric in the province, delivered a public apology in a unusual address a day after the collapse.

“This is certainly God's will so we must all be patient, and may God compensate with something better, with an outcome more beneficial,” he remarked. “We must be assured that God will compensate those touched by this tragedy with significant compensation.”

Continuing Probe

Judicial probes concerning religious leaders remain delicate in the largest Muslim-majority nation.

There has been no statement from institution administrators since the incident.

“We will examine this case thoroughly,” the province's senior police official stated on Sunday.

“Our inquiry also demands expertise from a panel of structural engineers to establish whether negligence by the institution led to the fatalities.”