School Roof Collapse in Peshawar, Pakistan Kills at Least 32 Students and a Teacher
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The roof of a private school collapsed during classes on Thursday morning in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 32 students and one female teacher — at least 33 people in total — and injuring around 50 children, according to the latest figures from Lady Reading Hospital reported by CNN. Rescue work concluded on Thursday afternoon, after everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been pulled out.
Reuters reported that the school was the Al-Khair Education Centre, located in the Dir Colony neighborhood of central Peshawar. The roof of an upper floor gave way and crashed through the floor below while students were in class. District emergency officer Iftikhar Khan said rescuers had pulled at least 45 children from the rubble. According to Lady Reading Hospital, the students who died were between six and 14 years old.
The injured were taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where an emergency was declared and medical staff treated the wounded, some of them in critical condition, with several children remaining under medical observation. Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim confirmed the latest casualty figures to reporters.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial Rescue 1122 emergency service, said the roof of an upper floor had collapsed onto the classroom below, leaving several children trapped beneath the debris. According to CNN, rescue efforts stretched into Thursday afternoon and later concluded after everyone trapped was pulled out; Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir also confirmed that the rescue operation had ended and the debris had been cleared. According to the Associated Press, residents of the congested neighborhood were among the first to reach the school, and rescue workers arrived within minutes of being alerted.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The Associated Press reported that Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and that the school's owner had been arrested; officials also said the building had been damaged by rain. Faizi told CNN that heavy overnight rainfall had made the roof of the two-story building unstable.
In July, the roof of a tutoring center under construction collapsed in Lahore, killing four schoolchildren.
(The casualty figures in this report are the latest provided by Lady Reading Hospital; GSM will update this story if officials revise them.)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：白沙瓦迪尔居民区（Dir Colony）学校屋顶坍塌事故现场，Rescue 1122 救援人员在现场，行动与行政主任卡马尔·沙阿接受媒体采访。照片由开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省救援机构 Rescue 1122 官方发布（其 Facebook 官方专页 2026-10-15 原帖）
- 2026-10-15School Roof Collapse in Peshawar, Pakistan Kills at Least 32 Students and a TeacherThis story
- 2026-10-15Follow-Up: Death Toll in Peshawar School Roof Collapse Rises to 35 — 34 Students and a Teacher Killed
