34 dead after school roof collapses in Pakistan

International

THIRTY-three pupils and a teacher died after a school roof collapse in Peshawar, Pakistan, brought down classrooms across three floors and left children trapped beneath the rubble.

More than a dozen others were injured, some critically, when the roof gave way at the private Al-Khair school in Dir Colony on Thursday morning, a BBC report said.

Emergency services were alerted at 08:48 local time (03:48 GMT), after lessons had begun, rescue official Bilal Faizi told the BBC. The collapse began in an upper-floor classroom, sending debris crashing through the floors below.

About 30 pupils were in the top-floor classroom, 40 in the middle and 45 on the ground floor, police chief Mian Saeed said. The school’s location on a narrow street hampered rescue operations and made it difficult to transport the injured to hospitals.

Local residents joined rescuers in pulling children from the wreckage. An English teacher from a nearby school said he helped rescue more than 20 children, including six he personally pulled from the rubble. Many were initially alive and talking, but some later died. He also described seeing blood at the scene and a child pleading for water while in pain.

Another resident, Sohail, said he and others used shovels to free children trapped beneath the debris.

Lady Reading Hospital reported the deaths of 32 children and a teacher, while Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital confirmed the death of another child.

Police have arrested the school’s owner as authorities investigate whether building regulations were breached. Saeed said the structure had roof slabs he described as “substandard” and was “overloaded”, exceeding its weight-bearing capacity. Emergency official Arif Khattak said the school building had been constructed on a temporary basis.

Saeed warned that the remaining structure was still “extremely dangerous” and urged people to stay away.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ordered a safety audit of schools across the province to identify potential risks and ensure corrective measures are taken.

“We cannot allow the safety of our children to be compromised,” he said in the BBC report.

Relatives of the deceased have expressed anger over the tragedy and accused the school of neglecting safety concerns. Families have called for accountability and for those found responsible to face consequences.(MyTVCebu)