Major school collapse in Peshawar kills 34, prompting investigation into building safety
A school building in Peshawar, Pakistan collapsed on 15 October, killing at least 34 students and a teacher and injuring around 50 others. Police attributed the collapse to substandard roof construction and structural overloading, and the school owner was arrested as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a thorough investigation into the disaster.
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On 15 October, a school building in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, partially collapsed, resulting in at least 34 deaths among students and staff, with approximately 50 people injured, including five in critical condition. Rescue teams described difficult scenes as they worked to extract children trapped beneath heavy rubble.
A police official explained to the BBC that the building had been constructed with substandard roof slabs and had exceeded safe load limits. This incident has raised concerns about how building regulations are enforced for private schools in Pakistan's crowded urban areas, where construction standards are often inadequate. The school's owner has been detained as authorities investigate the causes of the structural failure.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that a comprehensive investigation would be conducted into the tragedy. The collapse has renewed attention to building codes and their enforcement across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where weak construction standards have previously caused fatal accidents. The disaster occurred during a week when the province was placed under federal emergency rule.
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