Peshawar mourns after roof collapse snuffs out 31 lives
• Teacher, 30 students among the dead; around 30 injured treated at Lady Reading Hospital
• Chief secy forms fact-finding committee to probe incident, suggest preventive measures
• Governor tells PM school owner in custody; safety audit of schools across province ordered
• President, PM call for best treatment for the injured; Unicef pledges psycho-social support
PESHAWAR: At least 30 children and a schoolteacher lost their lives and dozens of others were injured after the roof of a multi-storey private school collapsed in the Dir Colony area on Thursday, plunging the city into mourning.
The incident occurred at the Al-Khair Education Centre, located off Outer Circular Road. Rescue officials said the ceiling of a classroom came down on students after the roof of a higher floor collapsed, crumpling the two storeys.
Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesman for Rescue 1122, said when the emergency response teams arrived at the scene, they found that one roof had collapsed onto another, trapping several children inside.
Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim confirmed that 30 students and a female teacher had lost their lives. According to the official list of casualties, a total of 61 people were brought to the facility, 30 of whom were discharged after treatment.
Speaking to Dawn, Samiullah, a parent who rushed to the site after hearing about the incident, said he had rescued three girls, all under the age of eight.
“I received a call from home at around 8:50am and reached the site about 10 minutes later, at around 9am. We have six children studying at the school,” he said.
“When I saw the building, I thought my son, who was in a ground-floor classroom beneath the collapsed first floor, had also died. However, he had left the classroom to drink water,” he added.
Resident Sohail told AFP that “everyone began screaming in panic” after his niece managed to find her way home after escaping the building to inform them of the collapse. “When I arrived at the scene, I saw around 10 to 15 children trapped beneath the rubble, with debris piled up to their necks. We quickly pulled them out,” he said.
Fact-finding committee
The provincial chief secretary has constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the incident and tasked it with submitting a report within seven days.
The committee includes the secretary of the transport department, Zubair Ahmed, and chief engineer of the communication and works department, Jamshid Ali Khan.
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also sought a detailed report and directed the authorities to determine the cause of the collapse. “The loss of precious lives of innocent children is an extremely painful tragedy,” the statement said.
He also announced a compensation of Rs1 million for those who lost their lives and a compensation of Rs200,000 for those who sustained injuries in the incident. The governor prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured children and directed the authorities concerned to provide them with the best possible medical facilities.
In another statement on his X account, Mr Kundi added that he had also directed a structural safety audit of educational institutions across the province to identify potential risks and ensure that immediate corrective measures are taken wherever necessary. “We cannot allow the safety of our children to be compromised,” Mr Kundi wrote.
Meanwhile, funeral prayers for the children and their teacher were offered in Peshawar, and were attended by the governor, besides hundreds of others, including relatives of the deceased students.
PM seeks report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and sought a report on the tragic incident. The PM telephoned the KP governor to discuss the incident, the PM’s Office said.
Briefing the PM, the governor said the school’s owner had been arrested, and an investigation had been initiated. The PM directed that all aspects of the incident be thoroughly examined and that action be ensured against those responsible in accordance with the law.
PM Shehbaz also extended condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in the incident and directed that the best possible medical facilities be provided to the injured and that all possible assistance and support be extended to the affected families.
In a similar statement, President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over the tragic incident, and extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
He directed the authorities to ensure the provision of the best possible medical facilities to the injured and extend all possible assistance to the affected families.
In a statement, Unicef Pakistan representative Pernille Ironside said their thoughts were with the injured children. “We wish them a swift and full recovery. Unicef stands ready to support the government’s response by providing psycho-social support to affected children, families and communities,” she said.
Unicef also called for urgent action to ensure that all schools meet building safety standards. These standards must be strictly enforced to prevent such tragedies in the future, the representative said.
Amin Ahmed in Islamabad also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026
