At Least 28Children, OneTeacher Killed as School Roof Collapses in Pakistan
47 Children Injured in Peshawar Incident. Heavy Rainfall Suspected to Have Triggered Collapse.
At least 28 children and one teacher were killed after the roof of a school collapsed in Peshawar, northern Pakistan, on Thursday morning, authorities said.
Dozens of others were injured in the incident, with rescue teams continuing operations to search for children trapped beneath the rubble.
Bilal Ahmed of the local rescue services told CNN that heavy rainfall was believed to have caused the roof of the two-storey school building to collapse. Some children remained trapped under the debris, and rescue workers were making efforts to reach them.
Asim Khan, spokesperson for Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, told CNN that 47 children had been injured in the incident. Footage from the scene showed ambulances rushing through narrow streets as crowds gathered outside the damaged school building.
Local residents were among the first to reach the scene and assist with rescue efforts. According to eyewitness accounts cited by The Associated Press, emergency responders arrived within minutes of the collapse.
Rescue teams worked to locate and evacuate children trapped beneath the debris, while the injured were taken for medical treatment. Building collapses remain a recurring problem in Pakistan, where construction standards are often inadequately enforced and some structures are built using substandard materials.
The latest tragedy has renewed concerns about building safety regulations, construction quality and the protection of children in educational institutions.
The school collapse comes just weeks after a devastating fire at a hospital in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, killed at least 14 newborn babies, triggering widespread public anger and multiple arrests.
In July, at least 14 schoolchildren were killed when the roof of a tutoring centre under construction collapsed in Lahore, a city in eastern Pakistan, according to police and rescue officials.
The latest incident in Peshawar has once again highlighted concerns over construction safety and emergency preparedness in Pakistan, particularly in buildings used by children.
