Peshawar School Roof Collapse Kills 21 Children and a Teacher, Rescue Teams Search Rubble in Dir Colony
The roof of a private school in Peshawar’s Dir Colony caved in on Thursday morning, burying a classroom under rubble in minutes. Lady Reading Hospital, where the casualties were taken, said the bodies of 21 children had been brought in, along with the body of a female teacher. The toll climbed through the morning as rescue workers pulled more victims from the debris; the first reports had put the number of dead far lower.
Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim said every child killed was aged 13 or under. An emergency was declared at the hospital, with its administration stationed in the trauma unit to oversee the response.
The figures for the injured have moved as more casualties arrived. The hospital initially received 20 injured children, but Capital City Police Officer Dr Mian Saeed put the total number of injured at more than 40, including teachers. Several of the injured children are in critical condition.
Rescue 1122 teams are still working at the site. Officials fear more children and staff may be trapped beneath the rubble, and the search is continuing. No official cause has been announced. Some officials have said the building had been weakened by rain, though that has yet to be formally established.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief over the deaths, directed that the injured receive every possible medical assistance and ordered rescue work to be speeded up. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from the authorities, while Provincial Education Secretary Inayatullah Waseem directed the head of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority to submit a report on the incident by Friday.
Roof and building collapses recur in Pakistan with grim regularity, and each one reopens the same argument about how privately run schools are inspected — or not inspected — before a tragedy forces the question. In June, a tuition centre roof collapse in Lahore’s Kahna area killed 14 children. Whether the report ordered this time leads to anyone being held responsible will be the real test.
