VIDEO: At least 33 students and a teacher killed in school roof collapse in Pakistan

At least 32 students and one teacher were killed Thursday when a school roof collapsed in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, according to local hospital officials. Most of the victims were between 4 and 14 years old, said Asim Khan of Lady Reading Hospital, where injured children were taken for treatment.

Rescue teams worked against the clock to remove rubble, soil and broken structural materials from the site. Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency service Rescue 1122, said one structure collapsed onto another, crushing the classroom below and trapping students inside. Authorities feared more children could still be buried beneath the debris.

Hospital officials reported that more than 30 people were injured, including six in critical condition. Twenty injured children were taken to the hospital, most of whom were later discharged, while three with severe head injuries remained hospitalized. Emergency services deployed 16 ambulances, two disaster response vehicles and more than 60 rescuers.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and offered condolences to the victims’ families. President Asif Ali Zardari described the collapse as a heartbreaking tragedy, saying the nation shared the families’ grief.

A local resident, Sher Ahmed, blamed what he described as poor-quality construction materials and called for a thorough investigation and strict action against anyone found responsible. Authorities have not yet established the cause of the collapse or confirmed how many people were inside the school when the roof gave way.

Building collapses remain a recurring problem in Pakistan, where concerns persist over construction standards and enforcement of safety regulations. In June, more than a dozen children died when the roof of a tutoring center collapsed in Lahore. In 2025, a five-story building collapse in Karachi’s Lyari area killed 27 people and injured 10.