# Peshawar school roof collapse: 33 killed, 32 of them students, owner arrested; KP orders school safety audit

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/peshawar-school-roof-collapse-28-killed-27-of-them-students-as-al-khair-school)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 15 Oct 2026
Updated: 15 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 15 Oct 2026

> The toll at Al Khair School rose through Thursday. Police say the building was weak and overloaded, and the governor has ordered a structural audit of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

**At least 33 people, 32 of them students and one a female teacher, have now been killed in the collapse of a private school's roof in Peshawar on Thursday morning, 15 October 2026**, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesperson Muhammad Asim said, [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2037299/teacher-32-students-killed-in-peshawar-school-roof-collapse). The toll rose through the day from an early count of four, then 28. [ARY News](https://arynews.tv/school-owner-arrested-after-deadly-roof-collapse-claims-at-least-35-lives-in-peshawar) puts it at 35, so the final figure may still change. Twenty injured children were brought to LRH; most have gone home, and three with serious head injuries are still being treated.

## What happened

- **Where:** Al Khair School, a private school in Peshawar's Afridi Abad locality, according to Dawn. Geo News and ARY placed it in the Dir Colony area.
- **When:** during morning classes. A parent told Dawn he got the call at about 8:50am PKT and reached the school around 9am.
- **How:** a rescue official told AFP that the roof of an upper floor gave way and brought the ceiling down on the classrooms below, crushing two storeys. The students were aged roughly seven to 14.
- **Rescue:** Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir said all the debris had been cleared and no injured children were left at the site. Police set up a "green corridor" for ambulances on the orders of KP Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed.

## Cause: a weak building, police say

Peshawar CCPO Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed said the building's structure was weak and the roof was carrying too much weight for it, AFP reported. He also said the school ran under the name of an educational trust.

## Arrest and inquiries

- **School owner arrested:** the CCPO confirmed the arrest of the school's owner, ARY News and Geo News reported. Searchable does not name him while no charge has been made public.
- **Report:** Provincial Education Secretary Inayatullah Waseem told the managing director of the **Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PSRA)** to submit a report by Friday 16 October.
- **Province-wide audit:** KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, whose office runs the province under governor's rule, called it "an extremely painful tragedy", sought a detailed report on the cause and ordered a **structural safety audit of educational institutions across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa**.
- **President and PM:** President Asif Ali Zardari called for a comprehensive investigation and said school buildings must be checked against safety standards. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered all possible medical help and faster relief, and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar said the PM had taken "serious notice".

## Not the first this year

On 30 June, 14 children were killed when a building collapsed in Lahore's Kahna area, Dawn noted. Building and roof collapses in Pakistan are usually blamed on weak structures, extra floors added to old buildings and poor materials.

## What parents can do

- **Ask the school:** private schools in KP must be registered with the PSRA. Parents can ask the school for its registration and any building fitness certificate.
- **Know the warning signs:** cracks in a roof or wall, sagging or damp ceilings, new floors built on an old structure and heavy water tanks on roofs. Raise them with the school in writing and with the PSRA or the district education office.
- **Hospitals:** the injured are at LRH. Other hospitals in the city are listed in our [Peshawar hospitals directory](/businesses/hospitals/peshawar).

This story is developing and will be updated as officials confirm the cause and the final toll. Searchable does not publish the names of children.

## Frequently asked questions

**How many people died in the Peshawar school roof collapse?**

Lady Reading Hospital put the toll at 33 on 15 October 2026: 32 students and one female teacher. ARY News reported 35. Twenty injured children were taken to LRH.

**Why did the Peshawar school roof collapse?**

Peshawar's police chief said the building was structurally weak and the roof was overloaded. The governor has ordered a detailed report and a safety audit of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

## Sources

- Teacher, 32 students killed in Peshawar school roof collapse (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2037299/teacher-32-students-killed-in-peshawar-school-roof-collapse
- School owner arrested after deadly roof collapse claims at least 35 lives in Peshawar (ARY News): https://arynews.tv/school-owner-arrested-after-deadly-roof-collapse-claims-at-least-35-lives-in-peshawar
- At least 35, mostly children, killed after school roof collapses in Peshawar (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/686623-at-least-four-children-die-in-roof-collapse-incident-at-private-school-in-peshawar

How to cite: "Peshawar school roof collapse: 33 killed, 32 of them students, owner arrested; KP orders school safety audit", Searchable, 15 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/peshawar-school-roof-collapse-28-killed-27-of-them-students-as-al-khair-school