A school roof collapse in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed 32 pupils and a teacher Thursday, a hospital official said.
Twenty more students were taken to hospital after the collapse, which authorities blamed on "weak infrastructure." Others in the densely populated neighborhood described a close call.
Resident Sohail told Agence France-Presse (AFP) "everyone began screaming in panic" after his niece managed to find her way home after escaping the building to inform them of the collapse.
"When I arrived at the scene, I saw around 10 to 15 children trapped beneath the rubble, with debris piled up to their necks. We quickly pulled them out," he said.
Asim Khan of Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital said the death toll had risen to 33 by Thursday evening, with most of the victims aged between four and 14.
"A total of 20 injured children were brought to the hospital, most of whom have been discharged. Three severely injured children, who sustained head injuries, have been admitted to the hospital," Khan said.
The injured and deceased included 12 girls and a female teacher, Khan added.
A spokesman for the emergency rescue service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province 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.
Dozens of people were at the scene.
Images released by the emergency services showed rescue workers in high-visibility vests scrambling to move debris, rubble and dirt.
A senior Peshawar-based official said that initial reports suggested the roof collapse was due to "weak infrastructure."
"The school owner has been detained," the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Bodies wrapped in white cloth were seen being carried out of the hospital as volunteers arrived to help identify the victims.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed "deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives," according to a statement.
"The Prime Minister extends his condolences to the bereaved families and prays for them to have the strength and patience to bear this irreparable loss," the statement said.
President Asif Ali Zardari described the roof collapse as a "heartbreaking tragedy."
Resident Sher Ahmed blamed "substandard construction materials" for the tragedy and called for an investigation.
"With profound grief and sorrow, I urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and take strict action against anyone found responsible so that such tragedies can be prevented in the future," he said.
Roof and building collapses are common in Pakistan, largely due to poor safety standards and substandard construction materials in the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people.
In June, more than a dozen children were killed when a roof collapsed at a tutoring center in the eastern city of Lahore.
In 2025, 27 people were killed and 10 injured when a five-story building collapsed in the impoverished Lyari area of the southern city of Karachi.
