At least 32 schoolchildren and a teacher killed in Pakistan school roof collapse — The Japan Times

In Peshawar, Pakistan, at least 32 schoolchildren and a teacher were killed when the roof of the private Al-Khair Education Center school collapsed. Most of the children who died were under 13 years old. At least 45 people sustained injuries of varying severity, The Japan Times reports.

The rescue operation lasted several hours

The collapse occurred during morning classes at 8:48 a.m. Rescuers pulled children from beneath the building's debris for four to five hours, while parents and relatives of the students gathered near the school.

According to Mohammad Asim, a representative of Lady Reading Hospital, the dead included 12 female students and a teacher. Three children were in critical condition with head injuries. Twenty victims were taken to the hospital, and most of them were discharged after receiving medical care.

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Police launched an investigation

A rescue service representative said that the roof of the upper floor collapsed onto students in classrooms below, damaging two floors of the building. At the time of the incident, 110 students were in three classrooms. Earlier, Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed said that rescuers had pulled 47 children from under the rubble and that the death toll could rise.

Saeed stated that the building had a weak structure and that the roof was overloaded with construction structures. The school owner was detained, and law enforcement officers opened an investigation. Relatives of those killed accused the institution's administration of ignoring concerns about the condition of the building and demanded that those responsible be held accountable.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the families of those killed, according to a statement from his office.