Pakistan school roof collapse kills at least 29

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A roof collapsed at a private school in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher. Rescue workers and residents searched the wreckage as injured students were taken to a hospital, some in critical condition.

The collapse occurred at Al-Khair Education Centre in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. All the children killed or injured were 13 or younger, hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim said. NPR reported that six girls were among the dead.

Accounts differed on the number of injured. NPR reported, citing a hospital spokesman, that more than 50 people were hurt. Al Jazeera reported more than 20 injured. Lady Reading Hospital declared an emergency to treat the wounded.

The school stood in a congested neighborhood, making it difficult to bring in equipment. Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported that heavy machinery could not reach the site and that residents and rescue teams used buckets and utensils to clear debris. A district emergency officer, Iftikhar Khan, said at least 45 children had been pulled out, CBS News reported, citing Reuters. Rescue officials later said everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been removed and crews were clearing debris, according to NPR.

Mahwish Zaman, an injured teacher, told The Associated Press that she was in her classroom when the roof fell and felt as if the sky had collapsed. She said she regained consciousness in a hospital. NPR reported her account.

Resident Samiullah Khan said he helped rescue three girls after rushing to the school. His son, a student there, survived because he had stepped out of his classroom for water, NPR reported. Another resident, Zahir Hussain, told CBS News that lessons had barely begun when the collapse occurred. “The parents and families were in unbearable pain,” he said. Parents gathered outside the school and at Lady Reading Hospital seeking news of their children, NPR reported.

Reports also differed on the school’s size. Zaman told The Associated Press that about 1,200 students were enrolled from nursery through fifth grade in a three-story building, according to NPR. Al Jazeera’s Hyder said the school had about 350 registered students. Hussain described it to CBS News as a small, two-story residential building on a narrow street.

The cause remained under investigation. Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said the school’s owner had been arrested and described the building as structurally weak, NPR reported. The provincial government formed a committee to investigate. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from authorities and called for medical care for the injured children.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences, NPR reported. “The entire nation shares the grief of the affected families in this hour of sorrow,” Zardari said. He called for a comprehensive investigation and for school buildings to meet safety standards. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said the government had taken serious note of the collapse. “Ensuring the safety and protection of our children must remain paramount,” he wrote on X, according to Al Jazeera.