A roof collapse at a private school in Peshawar killed at least 34 children and a teacher. Authorities arrested the school owner, citing structural weaknesses, while officials promised an investigation.
The roof of a private school in Peshawar, Pakistan, collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 34 children and one teacher and injuring more than 50 others. The incident at Al-Khair Education Centre is being described by authorities as the deadliest of its kind in the country.
The collapse occurred in the Dir Colony neighborhood of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Emergency services spokesperson Bilal Faizi stated that the roofs of two classrooms collapsed while second- and third-grade students were inside with their teachers. Faizi noted that ambulances and disaster management personnel arrived within five minutes of being alerted.
Nearly 100 rescuers joined the operation, including panicked parents who assisted crews. Faizi credited the rapid evacuation with saving at least 40 lives. By hours after the incident, emergency services confirmed that everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been recovered and debris had been cleared.
Mohammad Asim, a spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital, said the victims were between six and 12 years old, with the oldest being 14. He confirmed that some of the injured were in critical condition, prompting the hospital to declare an emergency. Asim added that the fatalities included 12 girls and a female teacher.
Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed announced the arrest of the school’s owner, Mohammad Khan. Ahmed stated that the building was structurally weak. However, according to police, the owner blamed this week’s rains for weakening one of the roofs. An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway.
Al Jazeera reported from Islamabad that the school was "very poorly built with just steel girders, mud bricks, and in some cases, wooden beams to hold the three-storey structure." Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced and safety regulations are frequently ignored to reduce costs.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi expressed sorrow over the collapse and directed officials to provide the best possible medical care to the injured. The provincial government formed a committee to investigate the cause of the roof collapse.
In Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences to the bereaved families. "The entire nation shares the grief of the affected families in this hour of sorrow," Zardari said. He called for a comprehensive investigation and stressed the need to ensure school buildings meet safety standards.
This tragedy highlights ongoing issues with building safety and regulatory enforcement in Pakistan. It follows a similar incident in July where a roof collapsed at a tutoring center in Lahore, killing four schoolchildren. The arrest of the school owner and the formation of an investigative committee signal an attempt by authorities to address the structural failures that contributed to the high death toll.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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