At least 34 children and a teacher were killed and more than 45 people injured when a roof collapsed at a private school in Peshawar on Thursday, October 15, 2026; police arrested the school’s owner as authorities opened an investigation.
The collapse struck Al-Khair Education Center in the city’s Dir Colony neighborhood during morning classes, when children aged mostly 13 or younger were inside the three-storey building. An upper-floor roof gave way, sending debris into classrooms below and trapping students and staff. Rescue workers and local residents searched the rubble for hours, while nearby Lady Reading Hospital declared an emergency to treat the injured; officials later said everyone trapped had been recovered.
Police said the building appeared structurally weak and that construction may have overloaded the roof, but investigators have not yet established the precise cause. The provincial government has ordered a safety audit of educational institutions across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and officials announced compensation for victims’ families and injured survivors. The tragedy has left families and neighbors grieving, while renewed attention falls on the safety of buildings used as schools.