No fewer than 34 persons have been killed after a school roof collapsed in Pakistan, with hospitals saying the large majority are children under the age of 13
Mohammad Asim, spokesperson for Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, says at least 19 others are injured – some critically
The owner of the school has been arrested, police say, as investigations are carried out into the structure of the building
A local official says emergency services were first alerted to the incident at the private Al-Khair school in the Dir Colony neighbourhood at 08:48 local time (04:48 BST) – here’s a map of the area
Rescue workers and residents searched the rubble for hours, concerned more children could be trapped
Our reporter there says rescuers struggled to get the injured out as the school is in a narrow street where only one vehicle can pass at a time
In a statement, the office of Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari says “this heart-wrenching tragedy has plunged the entire nation into shock”
One person at the site of the collapse said they pulled more than 20 children out of the rubble…
“I personally pulled out six children with my own hands. Most of them were alive and talking. But later it was found that they had passed away.”
“There was a lot of blood,” he said. “One child said he was in a lot of pain. His tongue had dried up in his mouth, [and he was] asking for water.”
