Roof of a private school collapses in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least 29 people, most of them young children

What happened

The roof of a private school collapsed Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. NPR reported that at least 28 children and a female teacher were killed and more than 50 other people were injured, citing a hospital spokesman.

CBS News identified the school as the Al-Khair Education Center and reported that at least 29 people died, according to the hospital spokesperson and other local officials. NPR described the school as sitting in a congested neighborhood in central Peshawar, while CBS News placed it in the city's southwest Dir district.

Casualties and rescue

Children among the dead

Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim said every child killed or injured was age 13 or younger and that some of the injured were in critical condition, NPR reported. Six girls were among the dead, according to NPR, which also reported that the hospital declared an emergency as medical staff treated the wounded.

Asim told CBS News that the bodies of 17 children and a female teacher were brought to Lady Reading Hospital in the city. He added that some survivors were admitted in critical condition.

Clearing the rubble

Residents were among the first to reach the site, and rescue workers arrived within minutes of being alerted, according to witnesses and accounts from the scene cited by NPR. District emergency officer Iftikhar Khan said crews had taken out at least 45 children, according to Reuters as cited by CBS News. Hours after the collapse, rescue officials said everyone trapped had been pulled out and crews were clearing debris, NPR reported.

What officials say caused it

Police point to a weak building

The cause remained under investigation, but Peshawar's police chief said the building was structurally weak and that the school's owner had been arrested, NPR reported. CBS News, citing Reuters, quoted the police chief as saying the roof was "overweight with construction on a weak structure that caused the collapse." A local police official told CBS News that ongoing construction on the roof could have overweighted the structure.

Government response

The provincial government said a committee had been formed to investigate, according to NPR. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from authorities on the cause and directed officials to provide the best possible medical care to the injured children. President Asif Ali Zardari called for a comprehensive investigation and stressed the need to make sure school buildings meet safety standards, NPR reported.

Accounts from the scene

Mahwish Zaman, a teacher injured in the collapse, told The Associated Press that the three-story school had about 1,200 students in nursery through fifth grade. She said she was in her classroom when the roof came down and felt as if the sky had fallen.

Zahir Hussain, who lives near the school, told CBS News the building was overcrowded and served mainly children from low-income families. He said the narrow street made it hard for rescue teams to reach the site quickly and called the building "not suitable for use as a school at all."

Resident Samiullah Khan said he helped rescue three girls and that his son, who attends the school, survived because he had stepped out of his classroom to drink water, according to NPR.

Building safety in Pakistan

NPR reported that building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced and safety rules are frequently ignored to cut costs. In July, a roof collapsed at a tutoring center under construction in Lahore, killing four schoolchildren, according to NPR.

What to watch next

• Findings from the provincial government committee formed to investigate the cause of the collapse.
• The report Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi requested from authorities on what caused the roof to fail.
• The condition of injured children, some of whom were listed in critical condition.
• Any steps following President Zardari's call to ensure school buildings meet safety standards.