The key facts

  • At least 33 people killed: 32 students (20 boys, 12 girls) and one teacher
  • 110 students were in the school at the time of the collapse; 20 evacuated, three in hospital with serious injuries
  • Exact cause not yet announced; police suggest the building's structure was unreliable

Roof collapse at a private school

The roof of the Al-Khayr private educational center, located in the Dir colony area north of Peshawar — the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — collapsed. According to the BBC, at least 33 people were killed, including 32 students and one teacher.

Victims and injured

Muhammad Asim, a representative of Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, said that among the students killed were 20 boys and 12 girls. The children killed and injured were aged 6 to 12; most suffered head injuries. Twenty students were evacuated from the school, and three of them remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Rescue operations

Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed said that 110 students were in the school at the time of the incident. Rescuers believe more children may still be under the rubble. According to a rescue service representative, the roof collapsed over the third floor and pulled down the structures between the third and second floors, causing debris to fall on students in the classrooms.

Cause of the incident

The exact cause of the collapse has not yet been officially announced. According to preliminary information provided by Mian Saeed, the cause may have been the unreliability of the building's structure.