School Roof Collapse Kills 32 Children and a Teacher in Peshawar, Pakistan

Quick answer: On the morning of Thursday 15 October 2026, the roof of Al Khair Public School in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, collapsed, killing 32 children and a teacher and injuring around 50 children. Heavy overnight rain had made the roof of the two-storey building unstable before it gave way.

What happened at Al Khair Public School

The collapse happened on Thursday morning while pupils were in class at the two-storey Al Khair Public School in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to local rescue services, heavy overnight rainfall had left the roof unstable, and it came down on the children below.

The children who died were aged between six and 14, according to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where the victims were taken. A 25-year-old woman was also among those killed. Around 50 children were injured, hospital figures showed, with several remaining under medical observation.

Local residents were among the first to reach the scene, and rescue workers arrived within minutes. Rescue efforts stretched into Thursday afternoon and concluded once everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been pulled out, emergency services said.

Arrests and investigation

Police in Peshawar said the school's owner had been arrested and an investigation launched into the collapse. Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari described the incident as a heart-wrenching tragedy and called for a comprehensive investigation into its cause.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences to the families, saying no parent should have to endure such pain, and directed that the injured receive the best possible care. He vowed to take every necessary step to protect the safety of school children.

A wider pattern of unsafe buildings

Building collapses are a recurring problem in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced and many structures are built with substandard materials. The Peshawar disaster is not an isolated case: in July 2026, a roof collapse at a tutoring centre under construction in Lahore killed at least 14 schoolchildren.

The collapse also came weeks after a fire tore through a hospital in the capital, Islamabad, killing at least 14 newborns. An inquiry into that fire found the nursery had no fire alarm or sprinkler system and that the hospital lacked detailed procedures and training for responding to fires and other emergencies.

Together, the incidents have renewed pressure on Pakistani authorities to enforce building safety rules, particularly for schools and hospitals where large numbers of vulnerable people gather.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How many people died in the Peshawar school roof collapse? A: 32 children and one teacher were killed, a total of 33 deaths.

Q: Where and when did the collapse happen? A: At Al Khair Public School in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, on the morning of Thursday 15 October 2026.

Q: What caused the roof to collapse? A: Heavy overnight rainfall had made the roof of the two-storey school building unstable before it collapsed, according to local rescue services.

Q: Has anyone been arrested? A: Yes. Police in Peshawar said the school's owner had been arrested and an investigation launched into the incident.