Peshawar school roof collapse claims 34 lives; KP orders provincial building inspections

What happened

A roof collapse at the Al-Khair Education System in the Saeedabad neighbourhood of Dir Colony, Peshawar, resulted in the deaths of 34 people, including 32 children and two female teachers [1]. Police reported that approximately 110 children were present at the school when the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of the Yakatoot police station [1].

An FIR registered in the case alleges that the school’s owners, co-owners, and contractor used substandard construction materials in the building [1]. The FIR also states that students had previously warned management that the walls and roof were in danger of collapsing, but these complaints were not addressed [1]. Following the tragedy, the provincial government ordered safety inspections of private school buildings across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and formed inquiry committees at the district level to assess structural safety [1].

While inquiry committees have been constituted, available information indicates that relevant departments had not yet visited the site to begin investigations at the time of reporting [2]. A United Nations delegation visited the site to examine the infrastructure and met with relatives of the deceased [2]. The secretary of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority briefed the UN team on the incident [2].

Who is affected

The tragedy has impacted numerous families, with one report stating 35 families are mourning [3]. Specific accounts include:

• The family of Pir Muhammad, which lost five children [2].
• Zakirullah, who lost two sons, Abu Bakr and Muhammad [2].
• The deaths of three friends named Abdullah, Shayan, and Muhammad [2].
• More than 40 children were injured in the collapse [1].

Additionally, a provincial inspection drive following the incident has identified several government schools in poor condition [1]:

• Buner: Four of six classrooms at a government school in Badal are dilapidated [1].
• Charsadda: 15 of 20 classrooms across three government schools are in poor condition [1].
• Lower Dir: Buildings of three government boys’ schools are unfit for use [1].
• Karak: Both classrooms at a government school in Bami Banda are dilapidated [1].
• Lakki Marwat: Four of five classrooms at two government schools are in poor condition [1].
• Mardan: Four of 15 classrooms across two government schools are dilapidated [1].
• Dera Ismail Khan: All 25 classrooms across two government schools are dilapidated [1].
• Haripur: Buildings of three government girls’ schools are completely dilapidated [1].