At least 29 people have been killed after the roof of a private school collapsed in Pakistan. The incident occurred in the Dir Colony area of Peshawar on Thursday, October 15, with dozens of others injured.
Death toll rises to 29
SAMAA TV journalist Farhan Malik reported that the death toll had risen to 29, citing a spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital. He said six girls were among those killed, while the children who died were aged between seven and 13. A further 25 people injured in the collapse had been transferred to the hospital.
An emergency was declared at Lady Reading Hospital following the incident. Rescue teams rushed to the school and began searching through the rubble amid fears children were trapped beneath the debris. Local residents and volunteers also joined emergency teams as they desperately searched through the wreckage.
Rescue operations continue
ARY News reported that eight children were initially pulled from beneath the rubble and given first aid before being taken to hospital for further treatment. Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi earlier said around 20 people, including students and teachers, had been taken to hospitals, while several children were feared trapped beneath the rubble.
Building and roof collapses have previously resulted in a number of deaths across Pakistan. In July, three girls aged between three and 13 were killed when part of the outer wall of a government primary school near Umerkot collapsed and fell on them. That same month, a child died and at least five other people were injured after the roof of an under-construction private school building collapsed in Lahore's Baghbanpura neighbourhood.
History of similar incidents
Fourteen children were killed in June when the roof of a private tuition centre collapsed in Lahore's Kahna area. That disaster came less than two months after four children were killed and 20 people injured when the roof of a classroom at a private school in Dera Ghazi Khan collapsed. An investigation into the Dera Ghazi Khan incident found that construction work on an extension to the building was underway when the classroom roof collapsed.
Last week, two men died in Pakpattan after the roof of their home collapsed during heavy rain and a windstorm. In June, a labourer was killed and three other people were injured when the roof of a building under construction collapsed in the Khawaspur area of Lalamusa, Gujrat. Two people were injured in another roof collapse in Lahore's Nishtar area that month.
In August, a couple were killed and their daughters injured when the roof of their home in Islamabad's Shahzad Town collapsed following three days of heavy rainfall. Officials have yet to establish what caused Thursday's school roof collapse.
