In brief
A roof at Peshawar’s Al‑Khair private school in Dir Colony collapsed in the morning, crushing classrooms below and burying students and staff in rubble. Reports confirm 32 children and a teacher died, with dozens more injured in critical condition. Rescue teams struggled to reach the site on the narrow street, and an investigation has been ordered to examine building‑code violations. Local officials have called the structure ‘extremely dangerous’ and initiated a safety audit of all schools in the province.
At least 33 pupils and a teacher died when the roof of the Al‑Khair private school collapsed early Thursday morning in Peshawar, north‑western Pakistan. Hospital officials report 32 children and one teacher dead, while additional sources list the total at 33. Over a dozen more children were injured, several in critical condition.
Emergency services were called at 08:48 local time after classes had begun. The collapse occurred on the top floor of a three‑storey section, with rubble crushing lower classrooms and crushing students beneath the debris.
Police chief Mian Saeed announced the owner of the school would be arrested while a full inquiry into possible building‑code violations was ordered. He described the roof as “substandard” and the structure as overloaded, exceeding its weight limit.
Rescue efforts were hampered by the school's narrow street location, making it difficult for teams to access the building and transport victims to nearby hospitals, including Lady Reading and Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial.
Local families and teachers have demanded accountability. A teacher who helped rescue students said eight children were pulled from the rubble, though many later died. Others used shovels to dig under the collapsed sections.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ordered a safety audit of all schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to identify and address structural risks. “We cannot allow the safety of our children to be compromised,” he stressed.
The tragedy follows previous incidents of structural failure and fire in Pakistan, underscoring persistent challenges with safety standards in educational and healthcare facilities.
