School roof collapses in Pakistan, killing 27 students and a teacher — Dawn

In Peshawar, Pakistan, at least 28 people were killed after the roof of the private Al Khair school collapsed in the Afridi Abad area. The dead include 27 students and one teacher, while another 19 people were injured, Dawn reports.

Rescue operation continues

According to Muhammad Asim, a spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital, five of the injured are in critical condition. The medical facility declared an emergency to receive the wounded.

Bilal Ahmed Faizi, a spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 service, said that 40 people had been pulled from under the rubble. The rescue operation is continuing, as people may still remain beneath the debris. Earlier, rescuers took about 20 people, including students and teachers, to hospitals.

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Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir said that students were in their classrooms when the collapse occurred. One parent who arrived at the scene after being informed about the incident said he pulled three girls under the age of eight out of the building.

Authorities demand the cause be established

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed condolences to the families of those killed and demanded a detailed report on the incident, as well as the establishment of the cause of the collapse. Provincial police inspector Zulfiqar Hameed instructed Peshawar police leadership to oversee the rescue operation and ordered the creation of an unobstructed route for ambulances.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed condolences to the families of those killed. Sharif also instructed that rescue work be accelerated, while Zardari called for a comprehensive investigation and checks on compliance with safety standards at educational institutions.