Peshawar school roof collapse kills at least 31; owner in custody, case registered

The roof of a private school in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, collapsed on Thursday, October 15, killing at least 31 people, most of them students, according to reports by The Kathmandu Post, Dawn and The Express Tribune. The school owner was taken into custody and police registered a case on Friday.

What happened

The collapse happened around 9 am at the Al-Khair School in the Afridi Abad area, according to a parent quoted by the Kathmandu Post. Students were in their classrooms. A rescue official told AFP that a ceiling fell on students after the roof of a higher floor collapsed, crushing two storeys. The Express Tribune reports the building had three storeys, and that rescue was slowed by dense housing and narrow streets.

Death and injury figures

The reports give different numbers:

• The Kathmandu Post, citing a Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson, reported 33 dead, including 32 students and one female teacher, up from 28 earlier. Twenty children were taken to that hospital, most were discharged and three remained in treatment.
• The Morung Express (IANS) reported 33 dead, 31 children and two female teachers, and said 53 children were taken to the hospital, 33 died and 17 were discharged. The report did not reconcile these figures. It said over 50 people were injured.
• The Express Tribune, citing the case registration, reported 30 children and one female teacher dead and 52 injured.
• Dawn reported more than 30 dead, including students and a female teacher.

Cause and the case

Peshawar's Capital City Police Officer said the roof was overweight with construction on a weak structure, per the Kathmandu Post. The first information report (FIR), as described by the Express Tribune, alleges that substandard materials were used and the building was dilapidated and unsuitable, and that earlier complaints about deteriorating walls and roofs were not acted on. The charges include death caused without direct intent under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with Sections 148 and 149. These are allegations in the FIR. The owner reportedly blamed several days of rain, per Geo News. The Peshawar commissioner told a meeting that the school was registered in 2026 but did not comply with required standard operating procedures, the Express Tribune reported separately.

Official response

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ordered action against those responsible, tighter rules for private schools and a structural safety audit of school buildings. Dawn reports private school audit reports were due in four to five days and government school reports in 15 days. The provincial chief secretary formed a fact-finding committee with a seven-day deadline, and compensation of Rs1 million per bereaved family and Rs300,000 per injured person was announced. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called the collapse a preventable failure rather than an accident, per Dawn. Families called for justice, according to Dawn.