At least 34 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed on Thursday in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, hospital authorities and police said.
An emergency was declared at the hospital to treat the injured, Asim said, adding that all of the children killed or injured in the incident were age 13 or younger.
The incident occurred in Dir Colony in the congested inner city area, Peshawar Capital City Police chief Mian Saeed said. Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir said all people trapped beneath the debris have been rescued. The building was located in narrow streets, which made rescue operations difficult, according to the city police chief. He said the authorities will examine which building regulations had been violated and conduct a proper inquiry into the incident to determine responsibility for the negligence.
He also ordered a probe into the building collapse. Provincial Education Secretary Inayatullah Waseem directed the managing director of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority to submit a report on the incident by Friday. Pakistan Army personnel, alongside other rescue and relief agencies, actively participated in the rescue operation. KPK Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed grief over the roof collapse and directed the relevant authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
