At least 28 children and a teacher have died after the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, while more than 50 people sustained injuries, according to local authorities.
The incident occurred at Al-Khair Education Center in Dir Colony, a densely populated neighbourhood in the city, where pupils were attending classes when the building’s roof gave way.
Six girls were among those confirmed dead, while several other children remained trapped beneath the rubble as rescue workers continued efforts to reach survivors.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the emergency services, said rescuers were working to locate children still buried under the debris.
Mohammad Asim, a spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital, said many of the victims were brought to the facility dead, alongside 20 injured people.
He added that some of the survivors were in critical condition.
The hospital subsequently declared an emergency to accommodate the injured pupils and provide urgent medical treatment.
Authorities expressed concern that the death toll could increase as rescue operations continued.
Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said only 47 of the 110 students present in three classrooms at the time had been rescued.
Describing the circumstances surrounding the incident, Ahmed said: “It was a weak building structure.”
He added: “Its roof was overweight with construction on a weak structure that caused the collapse.”
Police confirmed that the school’s owner had been arrested as investigations into the incident continued. School officials had yet to issue an immediate response.
Footage from the scene showed ambulances transporting victims while rescue personnel searched through the debris for trapped pupils and staff.
According to eyewitness accounts, local residents were among the first to arrive at the school and assist with rescue efforts before emergency teams reached the scene within minutes.
One resident, Mohammad Khan, said rescuers were carefully removing debris in an effort to reach children and school staff believed to be trapped beneath the collapsed roof.
Meanwhile, distressed parents gathered outside the school and at the government-run hospital, desperately seeking information about their children.
Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari, expressed sorrow over the tragedy, describing it as a “tragic school accident” that had “shocked the entire nation”.
In a statement shared on X, he also extended his “heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and bereaved families”.
Building collapses remain a recurring problem in Pakistan, where construction regulations are often inadequately enforced.
In a similar incident in July, four schoolchildren died when the roof of a tutoring centre under construction collapsed in Lahore.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Peshawar incident as rescue operations proceed.
