At least 34 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed during morning classes in Peshawar, a city in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. More than 50 others were injured, some critically, officials said. The incident, which occurred on Thursday at the Al-Khair Education Center, represents one of the deadliest building collapses in Pakistan in recent years.

Rescue teams and local volunteers worked for several hours to pull children and staff from the rubble. Emergency response spokesperson Bilal Faizi explained that the collapse involved the roof of an upper floor falling onto the classrooms below, crushing two stories of the building and trapping students inside. Around 110 children were reportedly in three affected classrooms at the time, most attending second and third grades, with ages ranging from six to 14. The injured were taken to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital, where several remain in critical condition.

Authorities attributed the collapse to structural weaknesses and potentially substandard construction. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed described the building as having an "overloaded roof" and weak infrastructure, contributing to the failure. He said the school’s owner, Mohammad Khan, had been arrested as investigations began. Khan reportedly blamed recent heavy rains for weakening the roof structure.

Eyewitnesses and residents expressed grief and frustration. Many victims came from low-income households in the Dir Colony neighborhood where the school is located. Parents and relatives rushed to the scene, some assisting in rescue efforts. Mahwish Zaman, an injured teacher hospitalized after the collapse, described the disaster as feeling "like the sky had fallen."

The incident has raised renewed concerns about building safety in Pakistan, where enforcement of construction standards is often lax and poor-quality materials are frequently used to reduce costs. Experts and community members called for stricter oversight and accountability to prevent future tragedies. Roof and building collapses remain recurrent hazards in the country, with a similar incident in Lahore in June killing at least 14 children.

National leaders expressed condolences. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered sympathies to the victims' families and prayers for strength, while President Asif Ali Zardari called the event a "heartbreaking tragedy." The provincial government is under increased scrutiny amid tensions with the federal administration, especially after a recent state of emergency was declared over security concerns.

The rescue operation concluded after nearly all survivors were removed from the debris, but the full death toll and circumstances remain under official investigation. Meanwhile, the community mourns the loss of children and educators whose lives were cut short.