World News | Pakistan | October 16, 2026

At least 34 children and a female teacher have died after the roof of a private school collapsed during lessons in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, prompting a police investigation, the arrest of the school's owner and orders for safety inspections across private schools in the province.

The disaster occurred on Thursday, October 15, at the Al-Khair Education Center in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Many of the children who died were under 13 years old. At least 45 other children were reported injured in initial accounts, with some suffering serious injuries.

The tragedy has also raised urgent questions about building safety, school oversight and whether warnings about the condition of the premises were adequately addressed before the collapse.

What happened at the school?

According to Reuters and the Associated Press, the collapse happened at approximately 8:48 a.m. local time, while pupils were attending morning classes.

A roof on an upper floor collapsed onto classrooms below, bringing down sections of the structure across two levels. Children and teachers were trapped beneath mud, brick and other debris as emergency responders and local residents rushed to help.

The school's police chief, Mian Saeed, said the building had a weak structure and that construction on the roof had placed additional weight on it. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collapse.

Rescue teams reached the site within minutes of receiving the alert. Police, emergency personnel and residents worked to pull children from the rubble and transport the injured to hospitals, including Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. The rescue operation continued for several hours.

Death toll and injuries

The reported death toll changed as hospitals and emergency authorities updated their figures.

Reuters reported that 34 children and a female teacher had died, while at least 45 children were injured. Other reports published during the initial rescue operation cited lower figures before the full scale of the disaster became clear.

The differences in early reports underline the importance of relying on updated hospital and government figures when reporting a developing disaster.

The children were reportedly between six and 12 years old in the Associated Press account, with the oldest victim reported to be 14. Families gathered around hospitals and the school as they searched for their children and awaited news of survivors.

Families say they raised concerns about the building

Some bereaved relatives alleged that concerns about the building's condition had been raised before the disaster.

The Associated Press reported that Mohammad Zaman, who lost two nephews, said he and other relatives had complained to the school's owner about rainwater repeatedly leaking into classrooms. He said he had warned that the building's condition could lead to a tragedy.

These accounts are serious, but they remain allegations reported by relatives. Investigators will need to establish what warnings were made, whether the school owner or relevant authorities received them, and whether any action was taken.

Police said the school's owner, identified as Mohammad Khan, had been arrested. An arrest is not a conviction, and the investigation must determine individual responsibility and whether any applicable safety requirements were breached.

Government orders inspections of private schools

In response to the collapse, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government ordered inspections of private school buildings throughout the province.

According to the Associated Press, the order directs the education department to establish district committees to examine school premises and report their findings and recommendations within three days. Inspections are to consider roofs, walls, foundations, staircases and other structural elements.

The government has also called for an investigation into the cause of the collapse. Officials have promised accountability for anyone found responsible.

The effectiveness of the response will depend on whether inspections are carried out thoroughly, whether dangerous buildings are identified and whether authorities have the legal and practical means to ensure that unsafe premises are repaired or closed.

A wider problem of school-building safety

The Peshawar disaster has renewed attention on building safety in Pakistan, where poorly maintained structures and weak enforcement of construction standards have contributed to deadly collapses.

Reuters reported that many low-cost private schools operate in rented or poorly maintained buildings, sometimes with limited oversight. The report also cited an earlier roof collapse at a tutoring centre in Lahore in June, in which at least 14 children died.

Low-cost private schools can provide families with access to education where public provision is limited. But affordability cannot replace basic structural safety. Children and teachers depend on school owners and regulators to ensure that classrooms are fit for occupation.

The Peshawar case raises several questions that the investigation should address:

• Was the building inspected and approved for use as a school?
• Did the roof carry additional construction weight beyond what the structure could safely support?
• Were reports of leaks or structural weakness formally raised before the collapse?
• Were inspections conducted by the relevant authorities, and were any recommendations ignored?
• What measures will be taken to protect pupils in other schools with similar risks?

The answers will help determine whether the tragedy resulted from individual negligence, regulatory failures, construction problems or a combination of factors.

Note:

The deaths of dozens of schoolchildren in Peshawar represent a devastating loss for their families and community. Beyond the immediate investigation, the incident presents an urgent public-safety challenge for Pakistan's education authorities.

The provincial government's order to inspect private schools is an important response, but inspections alone will not prevent future tragedies unless unsafe buildings are addressed and safety rules are enforced.

The central issue is accountability: investigators must establish what caused the collapse, examine the relatives' claims that warnings were raised, and determine whether preventable failures contributed to the deaths.

Every child should be able to attend school without being exposed to an avoidable risk of structural collapse.

Sources and further reading:

Reuters — Thirty-four children and a teacher killed in Pakistan school roof collapse