School Roof Collapse in Peshawar Kills at Least 29 Children and Staff, Owner Arrested
Police say the three-story private school was structurally weak; about 1,200 nursery to fifth-grade students were enrolled and more than 50 people were hurt.
The roof of a private school collapsed on Thursday in Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 other people, according to The Associated Press. Six girls were among the dead. All of the children killed or injured were 13 or younger, a hospital spokesman said.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the emergency services, said several children were trapped under the rubble after the collapse. Hours later, rescue officials said everyone trapped had been pulled out and crews were clearing debris. Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim confirmed the casualties and said some of the injured were in critical condition. The hospital declared an emergency as staff treated the wounded.
Mahwish Zaman, an injured teacher, spoke to the AP from a hospital bed. She said the three-story building had an estimated 1,200 students enrolled from nursery through fifth grade. She was in her classroom when the roof came down and told the AP it felt as if the sky had fallen. She regained consciousness in the hospital.
Residents of the congested central Peshawar neighborhood were among the first to reach the site, witnesses said, and rescuers arrived within minutes of being alerted. Samiullah Khan, a resident, said he rushed to the school and helped pull out three girls. His own son, who attends the school, survived because he had stepped out of the classroom to drink water. Outside the school and at the state-run Lady Reading Hospital, parents waited for word on their children.
Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said the school's owner had been arrested and that the building was structurally weak. The provincial government said a committee has been formed to investigate the cause. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi asked authorities for a report and directed that the injured get the best possible medical care. Provincial spokeswoman Samar Haroon Bilour said the government was using all available resources and praised the rescuers.
In Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow in separate statements. "The entire nation shares the grief of the affected families in this hour of sorrow," Zardari said. He called for a comprehensive investigation and stressed the need to make sure school buildings meet safety standards to prevent similar tragedies.
It is not the first deadly roof failure involving schoolchildren this year. In July, a roof collapsed at a tutoring center under construction in Lahore, killing four students. Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety rules are frequently ignored to cut costs.
Officials have not said when the investigating committee will report, or whether inspectors will review other private school buildings in the province. The death toll could change as the injured continue to receive treatment.
