21 killed as Peshawar school roof collapses

At least 21 people, including 20 students and a female teacher, were killed and 21 others injured after the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar’s Afridi Abad area on Thursday morning.

The incident occurred at Al Khair School while students were attending classes. The sudden collapse brought down part of the building, trapping children and staff beneath the rubble and prompting an emergency rescue operation.

According to Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim, the deceased students included 18 boys and two girls aged between seven and 12. Five of the injured were reported to be in critical condition. The hospital declared an emergency to provide immediate treatment to the victims.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and continued removing debris in an effort to locate and recover those trapped beneath the collapsed structure. Several injured students and teachers were shifted to nearby hospitals as rescue personnel worked to assist the victims.

Initial reports had put the death toll lower, but the number of fatalities rose as rescue workers recovered more victims and hospitals updated their figures.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and extended condolences to the affected families. He sought a detailed report on the incident and directed the relevant authorities to establish the cause of the collapse.

The governor also instructed officials to ensure that the injured received the best possible medical care. He described the loss of innocent young lives as a deeply painful tragedy.

The disaster left parents rushing to the school in search of their children. Samiullah, a parent who reached the site shortly after receiving a phone call, said he helped rescue three girls who were under eight years old.

He said he arrived at around 9am and initially feared that his son, who studied on the ground floor, had also been killed. However, the child had left the classroom to drink water shortly before the collapse.

The incident has renewed concerns about building safety and construction standards in Pakistan, where structural collapses have repeatedly caused deaths and injuries. Questions are expected to be raised over the condition of the school building, compliance with safety regulations and whether the structure had undergone the required inspections.

Authorities are expected to determine the exact cause of the collapse as rescue and relief efforts continue.