Pakistan school roof collapse: Death toll rises to 30; owner arrested

The death toll in the roof collapse at a private school in Pakistan’s Peshawar has risen to 30, including 29 children and a teacher, while more than 40 others were injured, police said.

The school owner has been arrested following the tragedy, which occurred on Thursday morning in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Most of the children killed in the incident were aged below 13. The roof of the three-storey school, located in Dir Colony in the inner-city area, collapsed while students were attending classes.

Peshawar Capital City Police chief Mian Saeed told media that the school owner had been arrested and that the roof was poorly constructed. He said the owner was running the institution as an education trust.

According to Saeed, the school had 110 enrolled children, of whom 30 were attending classes on the upper floor when the roof gave way.

Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesperson Muhammad Asim was quoted saying that 29 students, including six girls, and a female teacher had died in the incident. More than 40 people, including 20 students, sustained injuries.

The hospital declared an emergency to provide treatment to the injured. Asim said most of the children who died were aged 13 or younger.

In July, three girls aged between three and 13 were killed when a portion of the outer wall of a government primary school collapsed in Sindh province, burying them under the rubble. The same month, a child died and five others were injured when the roof of an under-construction private school building collapsed in Lahore.

In June, 14 children died after the roof of a private tuition centre collapsed in Lahore. Less than two months earlier, four children were killed and 20 people were injured when the roof of a classroom at a private school collapsed in Dera Ghazi Khan district.