Pakistan Orders School Inspections After Peshawar Roof Collapse Kills 34 Children

Pakistani authorities ordered inspections of every private school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after the roof of a school in Peshawar collapsed on 15 October 2026. The collapse killed 34 children and one female teacher. More than 40 other people were injured.

The roof of an upper-floor classroom at the privately run Al-Khair school in Dir Colony gave way around 8:48 a.m. local time. Ceilings below collapsed and trapped children under debris. Rescue workers arrived within five minutes. They pulled everyone trapped from the rubble by the end of the day. Lady Reading Hospital reported 32 child deaths and the teacher. Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital reported one additional child death.

Most of the children were between six and 12 years old. The oldest was 14. Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim said the fatalities included 12 girls and a female teacher. Some injured children remained in critical condition. Police chief Mian Saeed said the building had a weak structure and that its roof had been overloaded with additional construction. Recent rains had further weakened the structure, he said.

Police arrested the school owner, Mohammad Khan, on the day of the collapse. At least one relative of a victim said he had previously warned the owner about leaks. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ordered a safety audit of all schools in the province. He directed district committees to inspect roofs, ceilings, walls, columns, beams, foundations and staircases. Buildings will be classified as safe, in need of repair, or potentially unsafe. The committees must submit findings within three days.

President Asif Ali Zardari called the collapse a heart-wrenching tragedy and asked for a full investigation. The school stood in a crowded, low-income neighbourhood. Rescue official Bilal Faizi said the roofs of two classrooms collapsed while second- and third-grade children were inside with their teachers. Television footage showed rescuers digging through debris by hand and carrying injured children to ambulances.

The provincial government has urged the public to avoid overcrowding hospitals and to keep roads clear for ambulances. Officials said the building remains extremely dangerous and that further collapse is possible. The inspections will cover both owned and rented premises. The order applies across the entire province.

Pakistan has a large number of private schools that serve families who cannot access public education. The collapse has focused attention on construction standards in those buildings. Relatives of the dead have demanded that those responsible face consequences. One parent who lost two nephews said the owner should be made an example so that others do not open schools solely to make money without providing safe facilities.

Rescue operations ended on the same day. More than 40 children were pulled out alive. The government has not yet released the full list of the dead. Local officials have said the investigation will examine both the construction and any prior warnings about the building's condition.