27 Pupils, Teacher Killed As School Roof Collapses In Pakistan

Twenty-seven pupils and a teacher have been killed after a school roof collapsed in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, on Thursday, in an incident President Asif Ali Zardari described as a “heartbreaking tragedy”.

A hospital official at Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, Asim Khan, confirmed the death toll to the Agence France-Presse (AFP), saying more than 30 people were injured, including six who were reportedly in critical condition.

According to a spokesman for the emergency rescue service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, several schoolchildren were crushed and trapped beneath the debris when the roof gave way.

The spokesman, Bilal Ahmad Faizi, said rescue teams discovered that one roof had collapsed onto another, causing the classroom below to cave in and trapping pupils inside.

“When the Rescue 1122 emergency response teams arrived at the scene, they found that one roof had collapsed on to another, causing the classroom below to be crushed and trapping children inside,” Faizi said.

He added that rescuers feared more children could still be trapped beneath the rubble.

Faizi said 16 ambulances, two disaster response vehicles and more than 60 emergency personnel had been deployed to the scene to assist with rescue operations.

Images released by the emergency services showed rescue workers wearing high-visibility vests clearing debris, rubble and dirt from the collapsed structure, while AFP journalists reported seeing dozens of people gathered at the scene.

A local resident, Sher Ahmed, blamed what he described as the use of substandard construction materials for the incident and called on the authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse.

“With profound grief and sorrow, I urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and take strict action against anyone found responsible so that such tragedies can be prevented in the future,” he said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, also expressed sorrow over the deaths, describing the incident as a devastating loss for the affected families.

In a statement, Sharif extended his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for their strength and patience in coping with what he described as an irreparable loss.

President Zardari similarly described the incident as a “heartbreaking tragedy”, saying the entire country shared in the grief of the affected families.

“In this hour of grief, the entire nation shares the sorrow of the affected families,” he said.

Building and roof collapses remain a recurring problem in Pakistan, a South Asian country with a population of more than 240 million, with poor safety standards and substandard construction materials frequently cited as contributing factors.

In June, more than a dozen children were killed when the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore.

Similarly, in 2025, 27 people died and 10 others were injured when a five-storey building collapsed in Lyari, a deprived neighbourhood in the southern port city of Karachi.