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At least 17 students were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar, Pakistan. All the victims were under the age of 13.
The incident occurred on Thursday (October 15) in the city’s Dir Colony, Muhammad Asim, a spokesperson for Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, confirmed. The Daily Dawn reported the incident.
In a statement, Asim said 17 students had died in the collapse. The hospital declared an emergency following the incident.
Earlier, Bilal Ahmed Faizi, a spokesperson for rescue agency Rescue 1122, said around 20 people, including students and teachers, had been rescued and taken to hospital. At the time, he reported four deaths, citing hospital sources.
Rescue operations began shortly after the collapse. The agency had earlier said more than 10 children were given first aid and taken to hospital. There were fears that several more children might be trapped under the rubble.
Roof and building collapses are relatively common in Pakistan, often attributed to the use of substandard construction materials and inadequate safety measures.
In July, part of the boundary wall of a government primary school near Umerkot collapsed, killing three children aged between three and 13. In the same month, the roof of an under-construction private school building collapsed in Lahore’s Baghbanpura area, killing one child and injuring at least five others.
Earlier, in June, 14 children were killed when the roof of a private coaching centre collapsed in Lahore’s Kahna area. Less than two months before that, four children were killed and 20 others injured when a classroom roof collapsed at a private school in Dera Ghazi Khan.
An investigation into the Dera Ghazi Khan incident found that the classroom roof collapsed while the coaching centre’s building was being expanded.
Last week, two people were killed when the roof of a house collapsed in Pakpattan during heavy rain and storms.
In June, a worker was killed and three others injured when the roof of a building under construction collapsed in the Khawaspur area of Lalamusa, Gujrat. That same month, two people were injured when a house roof collapsed in Lahore’s Nishtar area.
In August, a couple were killed and their daughters injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Islamabad’s Shahzad Town following three consecutive days of heavy rain. Source: The Dawn.