Photo: Collected
At least 33 pupils and a teacher have died after a private school building collapsed in Peshawar, Pakistan. The authorities see the use of substandard construction materials, a load beyond the building’s capacity and shortcomings in safety arrangements as the likely causes of the deaths. After the tragic accident, an order has been issued for a safety audit of all schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The BBC reported that the accident happened on Thursday (15 October) morning during classes at Al-Khair School in Peshawar’s Dir Colony. Emergency rescue workers were alerted at 8:48am local time. Rescue officials said the roof of a classroom on an upper floor caved in, bringing down the roofs of the floors below as well, trapping many pupils under the rubble.
Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar confirmed the deaths of 32 children and a teacher. One more child died at Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital. At least a dozen people were injured, several of them critically.
Local residents joined the rescue workers in the operation. An English teacher at a nearby school said he rushed to the spot after hearing ambulance sirens and pulled six children out of the rubble with his own hands; some of the children were alive and talking at first, but he later learnt that they had died. Other local residents also tried to rescue children by clearing the rubble with spades.
Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed said substandard roofing materials had been used in the building and the whole structure was bearing an excessive load; the building was a temporary construction. As the school stood in a narrow lane, it was also difficult for rescue workers to reach the spot and to take the injured to hospital.
According to the police chief, this is a case of grave negligence and it will be investigated whether building regulations were violated. The school’s owner has already been arrested. As the building remains highly unsafe, people have been told to stay away from the site.
Mohammad Zaman, who lost two nephews in the accident, accused the school authorities of ignoring safety concerns and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ordered a safety audit of all schools in the province. In June, 14 children died when the roof of a private coaching centre collapsed near Lahore. This series of accidents has renewed concern about the safety and supervision of educational buildings in Pakistan.
