Peshawar school roof collapse kills at least 34, mostly children; owner arrested, KP orders safety audit of schools

Key takeaways

• The roof of an upper-floor classroom at Al-Khair School, a private school in Peshawar's Dir Colony / Afridi Abad area, collapsed on Thursday morning, 15 October, and crushed the classrooms below.
• At least 34 people were killed, most of them children, according to hospital figures reported by the BBC and Dawn. AP reports a toll of at least 35. Figures have risen through the day and may change again.
• Peshawar's police chief says the building was overloaded and had substandard roof slabs; he called it a case of "gross negligence".
• The school owner has been arrested, the PM's Office says, and the KP education department has set up a fact-finding committee.
• KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ordered a structural safety audit of schools across the province.

What happened

Rescue 1122 was alerted at about 8:48am, shortly after lessons had begun, a rescue official told the BBC. The roof of a classroom on an upper floor gave way, and the falling weight brought down the ceilings of the classrooms underneath.

Rescue spokesman Bilal Ahmad Faizi told Dawn that teams found "one roof had collapsed onto another", trapping children in the classroom below. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed later said classrooms on three floors were brought down, with roughly 30, 40 and 45 pupils in those rooms.

The school sits on a narrow street where only one vehicle can pass at a time, which made it harder for ambulances to reach the site. Residents and parents joined rescuers in pulling children out of the rubble. Pakistan Army personnel also took part in the operation, Radio Pakistan reported.

By the afternoon, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir said the rescue operation had ended and all debris had been cleared.

Death toll: why the numbers differ

Early reports gave lower figures (17, then 27 to 29) as bodies were recovered. TalkEmber uses "at least 34" based on the BBC and Dawn hospital figures and will update this post if officials confirm a final number.

What officials say

• Cause: Police chief Mian Saeed said the structure had "substandard" roof slabs and was carrying more weight than it could bear. An emergency official told the BBC the building had been put up on a temporary basis.
• Arrest and inquiry: The KP governor told the prime minister that the school owner had been arrested and an investigation launched, according to the Prime Minister's Office. The Elementary and Secondary Education Department formed a fact-finding committee, including the chairman of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority, to find out what led to the collapse.
• Safety audit: Governor Kundi directed a structural safety audit of educational institutions across KP to find risks and fix them quickly.
• Condolences: President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief. Deputy PM Ishaq Dar wrote on X that children are the country's "most precious asset" and said school safety standards must be strengthened.

Parliament's joint sitting in Islamabad opened on Thursday with prayers for the victims.

What happens next

• The fact-finding committee is expected to report on the cause, any building-code violations and who approved the structure.
• Police say they will examine whether building rules were broken; further arrests or charges are possible.
• Parents across KP will be watching how the province-wide school safety audit is carried out, especially in private schools running in rented or extended buildings.

This is a developing story. Figures are as reported by hospitals and officials on 15 October 2026.