A roof collapse at a school in Pakistan has killed at least 34 people, nearly all students. Police indicated substandard building materials were used and have arrested the school owner.
Foreign news agencies reported that the roof and ceiling of the private Al-Khair School in the Dir Colony neighborhood of Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, collapsed around 08:48 local time on Thursday morning (15 Oct 2026) while children were in class.
The death toll has risen to at least 34, including 33 students and one teacher. More than a dozen others were injured, with some in critical condition.
Officials said the collapse began when the roof of the top classroom (third floor) gave way, triggering the ceilings and structures of the second and ground floors to collapse domino-style onto the students below.
The Peshawar police chief stated that the school used "below standard" concrete roofing slabs that bore weight beyond their limits, and the building was originally constructed as a temporary structure.
After the incident, police arrested the school owner and pledged a thorough investigation into possible violations of building regulations.
Relatives of the deceased demanded severe punishment for the school owner to set an example, claiming the school had consistently neglected safety measures.
The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is located, ordered immediate safety inspections of all schools in the province to prevent similar tragedies.
Pakistan has recently experienced multiple tragedies, including a June collapse of a tuition center near Lahore killing 14, and an August fire in a newborn ward in Islamabad killing 14, highlighting ongoing issues with building safety standards in the country.
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Source:bbc