The key facts

  • The roof of the Al-Khair private school in Peshawar collapsed on Thursday morning, killing dozens of children and a teacher
  • The school's owner has been detained; police promise to investigate building code violations
  • The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ordered a safety inspection of all schools in the province

Collapse and death toll

On Thursday morning, 15 October 2026, the roof of an upper-floor classroom collapsed at the Al-Khair private school in the Dir Colony area of Peshawar, north-west Pakistan. According to the rescue service, the call came in at 08:48 local time (03:48 GMT), after classes had already begun. The collapse of the upper-floor roof caused the floors below to give way, burying children under the rubble. According to hospital figures cited by the BBC, 32 children and a teacher died at Lady Reading Hospital and one more child at Nasirullah Khan Babar Hospital — at least 33 pupils and a teacher in total. Euronews, citing official figures, reports 34 pupils and a teacher, with most of the victims children under 14. More than a dozen people were injured, some in critical condition.

Rescue efforts

Rescuers and local residents described chaotic scenes at the site of the tragedy. An English teacher from a neighbouring school told the BBC that, together with other residents, he pulled more than 20 children from the rubble, personally pulling out six who were initially alive but later died. A resident named Sohail told AFP that his niece, who ran out of the building, came home with news of the collapse, and 'everyone started screaming in panic'; he said that at the scene he saw 10–15 children pinned under the debris up to their necks. The narrow street on which the school is located hampered rescuers' access and the transport of the injured to hospitals. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed warned that the building was still 'extremely dangerous' and urged people to move away from it.

Causes and investigation

Police chief Mian Saeed said the school's owner had been detained and promised a thorough investigation into whether building regulations had been violated. According to him, classrooms on three floors collapsed: about 30 pupils were on the top floor, 40 on the middle floor and 45 on the ground floor. He said the entire building, with 'substandard' floor slabs, was 'overloaded' and exceeded the permissible load limit. Emergency services official Arif Khattak said the school building had been built as a temporary structure. A senior Peshawar official, who did not give his name, told AFP that preliminary findings pointed to 'weak infrastructure'.

Reaction and mourning

On Friday, dozens of people gathered outside the school to mourn the dead. Relatives demanded justice and accused the school of ignoring safety issues. Tailor Muhammad Wahab, who lost his 11-year-old nephew Hammad, told AFP: 'The parents of all these children must get justice.' A parent named Asadullah said he had lost his son, his nephew and three other close relatives. Mohammad Zaman, who lost two nephews, told Reuters: 'Make an example of them, a lesson for everyone.' Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed 'deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives' on X. President Asif Ali Zardari called the collapse a 'heartbreaking tragedy'.

School inspections and context

The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Faisal Karim Kundi, ordered a safety inspection of all schools in the province to 'identify potential risks and ensure that immediate corrective measures are taken where necessary', saying: 'We cannot allow the safety of our children to be put at risk.' Building collapses occur frequently in Pakistan, mainly due to non-compliance with safety standards and poor-quality construction materials. In June, 14 children died when the roof of a private tuition centre collapsed near Lahore. In August, 14 newborns died in a fire in a neonatal ward of a hospital in Islamabad, where, an inspection found, fire alarms and sprinklers were absent. In 2025, 27 people were killed and 10 injured when a five-storey building collapsed in the Lyari area of Karachi.

Crowds of rescue workers, police officers and local residents fill the covered courtyard of a school building as an emergency operation unfolds behind cordons. Debris cover parts of the floor, while responders in helmets and high-visibility vests work near a taped-off area. Educational murals displaying letters and vocabulary words are painted on pillars throughout the building, and several onlookers record the scene on mobile phones.Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

A rescue worker said an upper-floor roof collapsed, crashing through three classrooms

A map showing the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, highlighting the locations of Lady Reading Hospital and the Al-Khair private school in Dir Colony
Interior of a damaged classroom with part of the roof collapsed, exposing brick walls and open sky above. Twisted metal ceiling supports hang across the room, while educational posters, including one on photosynthesis and another showing basic shapes, remain attached to stained white walls.Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

The roof crashed through three classrooms and buried schoolchildren in debris, police say

Rescue workers, police and security personnel gather inside a school building around a cordoned-off area beside a large mound of excavated soil. Educational murals and a Pakistani flag are visible on the pillarsImage source, Reuters
Dozens of men crowd together next to a large banner that shows Imran Khan with his fist pumping to the air. The banner is attached to a stage with more people standing on topThree women at a vigil for the 14 newborns holding up candles