School roof collapse kills teacher, 27 children in Pakistan

A teacher and 27 pupils were killed on Thursday after the roof of the privately run Al Khair Education Centre collapsed in the Peshawar city of Dir Colony, according to authorities and hospital officials. The incident occurred during classes, with Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed stating that only 47 of the 110 students inside the classrooms at the time had been rescued. Most of the students were under the age of 13.

The collapse involved the roof of an upper floor falling onto the classrooms below, causing both storeys to cave in. Mian Saeed attributed the disaster to a weak building structure and excessive weight from construction on the roof, while resident Sher Ahmed blamed substandard construction materials. Authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause.

Emergency response teams, including Rescue 1122, deployed over 60 personnel to the scene. District emergency officer Iftikhar Khan reported that at least 45 children had been removed from the rubble, though there are concerns that more children remain trapped. Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim confirmed that most of those killed and at least 20 injured people were taken to the facility.

The South China Morning Post and France 24 reported that over 30 people were injured, with six believed to be in critical condition.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, The National Business, South China Morning Post, France 24, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.