At least 28 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed during lessons in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday. More than 50 others were injured, some critically. The roof of an upper floor at the three-story Al-Khair School gave way, bringing down the ceilings of classrooms below. Students were attending lessons when the structure collapsed, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Rescue workers, assisted by police and local residents, pulled children from the debris and rushed the injured to Lady Reading Hospital, where an emergency was declared. The rescue operation concluded several hours later, with officials confirming that everyone trapped had been recovered.
A local resident, Samiullah Khan, helped rescue three young girls from the wreckage. His son, who attended the school, survived after stepping outside his classroom for a drink of water shortly before the collapse, he told the newspaper Dawn.
Look at the site of the collapsed school building in Peshawar, where all three floors have crumbled into rubble. Authorities say substandard construction materials were the main cause of the collapse. #PeshawarTragedy #SchoolTragedy #Pakistan https://t.co/IK5De81joV
Police have arrested the school’s owner as the authorities investigate the cause of the collapse. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and that additional construction had placed excessive weight on the roof. The provincial government has formed an inquiry committee.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the families and directed the authorities to provide medical assistance to the injured. President Asif Ali Zardari called for a comprehensive investigation. The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Faisal Karim Kundi, also ordered a structural safety audit of educational institutions.In June, 14 children were killed when the roof of a private tutoring center collapsed in Lahore, in Punjab province. Four children were also killed in a classroom roof collapse in Dera Ghazi Khan in May.
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