Peshawar school roof collapse: what we know about the tragedy that killed more than 30 children

Pakistan is still coming to terms with one of its worst school disasters. On Thursday, October 15, 2026, the roof of a private school, the Al-Khair Education Center in Dir Colony, Peshawar, collapsed during classes.

The toll

Reports differ, and the numbers changed as rescue work went on:

• The Express Tribune reported at least 30 children and a female teacher killed and more than 50 injured, while noting that hospital lists were still being reconciled.
• Later reports by Pakistan Today and Daily Times put the toll at 35, almost all of them children, along with teachers.

The school had 110 students enrolled, all aged 14 or younger. About 30 children were in the upper-floor classrooms when the roof came down. The three-storey building stood in a crowded area with narrow streets, which slowed rescuers.

What caused it

Peshawar police chief Dr Mian Saeed said the roof was poorly built, the building appeared overloaded and had several defects, and the roof slab was made of thin clay tiles or tapered bricks. Police said they would check which building rules were broken.

Arrests and inquiries

• The school owner was taken into custody. The police case (FIR), registered at Agha Mir Jani police station, also names the contractor, the owners and shareholders, and says substandard materials were used and complaints about the walls and roof were ignored.
• Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who visited the site, said the investigation would be completed within days and ordered a structural safety audit of all government and private schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a report due in a week. He also said action would be taken against whoever issued the school’s no-objection certificate (NOC).
• The provincial education department formed a fact-finding committee led by the head of the KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority.
• Compensation of Rs1 million per death and Rs200,000 per injured person was announced.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders expressed grief and called for stricter safety standards.

What parents can check

No parent should have to think about this, but a few simple things are worth asking your child’s school:

1. Is the building registered and inspected? Ask when it was last checked by an engineer.
2. Has there been new construction on the roof or upper floors?
3. Are there visible cracks, sagging ceilings or water leaks?
4. Are there two ways out of every floor?

The real fix has to come from regulators: proper inspections before a school opens, and the power to close unsafe buildings. Our thoughts are with the families in Peshawar.