Teacher, 30 students killed in Peshawar school roof collapse

PESHAWAR: At least 31 people, including 30 students and a female teacher, were killed when a school roof collapsed in the provincial capital’s Afridi Abad area on Thursday. Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesperson Muhammad Asim initially told Dawn that the death toll had risen to 33, including a female teachers and students aged between seven and 14 and a female teacher. Later, he said that 30 students students and a female teacher had been killed. According to the official list of casualties shared by LRH, a total of 61 people were brought to the facility, of which 30 were discharged after being treated. Residents gather during a search operation after a roof collapsed at a school in Peshawar on October 15. —AFP A spokesman for Rewscue 1122 said schoolchildren were crushed and trapped after the roof gave way.

“When the Rescue 1122 emergency response teams arrived at the scene, they found that one roof had collapsed onto another, causing the classroom below to be crushed and trapping children inside,” spokesman Bilal Ahmad Faizi said. Speaking to Geo News , Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir confirmed that the rescue operation launched after the collapse had concluded. “Rescue teams have cleared all the debris, and no more injured children are at the scene,” he said. Following the incident, an emergency was declared at the hospital, said the LRH spokesperson in an earlier statement. Peshawar DC earlier told Dawn that the roof of Al-Khair School had collapsed, trapping students beneath the debris. According to a statement issued by his office, students were present in their classrooms when the incident occurred. A rescue official told AFP that the ceiling came down on the students after the roof of a higher floor collapsed, crumpling the two storeys. Peshawar…