Thirty-three children and one teacher were killed on Thursday when the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar’s Dir Colony, burying students beneath the rubble and triggering an emergency rescue operation.
Lady Reading Hospital and Naseerullah Khan Babar Hospital confirmed the deaths of 33 students and one teacher, bringing the death toll to 34. The children who died were between six and 14 years old.
The incident occurred at the Al-Khair Education Center, where students were attending classes when the roof gave way. Children were trapped beneath the debris, prompting rescue workers and local residents to rush to the scene in an effort to reach survivors.
Rescue teams worked to remove the rubble and evacuate the injured, while ambulances transported casualties to Lady Reading Hospital. Hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim confirmed the deaths and said an emergency had been declared to provide immediate treatment to the injured. Several wounded children were reported to be in critical condition.
Rescue worker Junaid Khan told The Media Line that between 110 and 115 children had been on the school’s roof and that its weak structure could not bear their weight. Several children were alive when they were pulled from the rubble, according to accounts from the rescue operation.
SSP Farhan Khan told The Media Line that the school’s principal had been taken into custody. Police confirmed the development after the rescue operation ended, as authorities began examining the circumstances surrounding the collapse and the safety of the school building.
The precise cause of the collapse remained under investigation. Authorities are expected to examine the building’s structural condition and determine whether it complied with applicable construction and safety requirements.
The tragedy has renewed concerns about the structural safety of educational institutions and the enforcement of building regulations in Pakistan. Schools are expected to provide safe environments for students, but structural failures in buildings used for education have resulted in deaths and injuries.
In July, a roof collapse at a tutoring center in Lahore also killed children, highlighting the risks posed by unsafe structures in places where young people gather to study. The Peshawar incident is likely to intensify calls for inspections of school buildings and stronger enforcement of construction and safety standards.
As investigations continue, authorities face questions about whether the school building met the required safety standards and whether warning signs had been identified before the collapse. The findings will be important in establishing responsibility and determining what measures are needed to prevent similar tragedies.
For the families who lost children, the incident has brought devastating grief, while injured survivors continue to require medical care. The investigation will now focus on the circumstances that led to the collapse and whether the tragedy could have been prevented.
