At least 35 people, including 34 children and a teacher, were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed during morning classes on Thursday. More than 50 others were injured, some critically, in one of the deadliest school building disasters reported in the country.
The collapse occurred at Al-Khair school in Peshawar, Pakistan, while second- and third-grade students were inside their classrooms. The roof of an upper floor gave way, bringing down sections of the building onto the classrooms below and trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble.
Emergency crews and local residents rushed to help. Nearly 100 rescuers eventually joined the operation, carefully removing debris and carrying injured children to waiting ambulances. Officials said the rapid response helped save dozens of lives. Hours later, rescue teams reported that everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been recovered.
The victims were mostly between 6 and 12 years old. At nearby hospitals, medical teams treated injured children, with some requiring urgent care. Parents and relatives gathered at the scene and hospitals, desperately searching for information about their loved ones.
Police arrested the school’s owner as authorities began investigating the cause of the collapse. The city’s police chief said the building was structurally weak, while the owner reportedly blamed recent rains for weakening the roof. Investigators are examining the building’s condition and whether construction or safety failures contributed to the disaster.
The tragedy has renewed concerns about school building safety and enforcement of construction standards. Officials have promised a formal investigation, while grieving families face the devastating loss of children who had simply gone to school for their morning lessons.