SRINAGAR: At least 29 people, including 20 students aged between seven and 12 and a female teacher, were killed after the roof of a private school collapsed in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Thursday, Dawn reported, citing a hospital spokesperson.
Another 40 people sustained injuries, five of them critically, Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim told the newspaper. The hospital declared an emergency to deal with the casualties.
The incident occurred at Al Khair School in the Afridi Abad locality while students were attending classes, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir told Dawn.
Rescue teams continued efforts to clear the debris and reach people feared trapped beneath the collapsed structure. Videos and photographs circulated on social media showed rescuers and local residents working at the site as crowds gathered nearby.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed grief over the loss of lives and sought a detailed report on the incident. He also directed the authorities to establish the cause of the collapse.
Further details about the circumstances leading to the roof collapse were not immediately available.
