In Lahore, Pakistan, a roof collapse at a tutoring center resulted in the deaths of at least 14 schoolchildren. Police and rescue officials confirmed the incident, which also left eight other children injured and receiving hospital treatment. Senior police official Faisal Kamran stated that the center’s owner and another individual have been arrested.
Rescue workers, alongside local residents, worked to clear debris from the damaged site. They feared more children might be trapped under the rubble, prompting a thorough search. The tutoring center was located in an aging building, and preliminary investigations suggest the roof of its unfinished second floor collapsed due to substandard construction quality.
Building collapses are not uncommon in Pakistan. Many structures are built with poor-quality materials, and construction standards are often ignored to lower costs. An example of such negligence occurred less than a year ago in Karachi, when a residential building collapse killed over two dozen people.
“We don’t know whose home to visit first to offer condolences for the loss of their children,” resident Zafar Iqbal said as he moved from one bereaved family’s home to another.
Witnesses reported swift action by ambulances and rescue workers, who arrived at the scene to assist immediately. Residents played a crucial role, using shovels and bare hands to help remove debris and search for trapped children. Hours later, scenes of grief unfolded as families collected their children’s bodies from hospitals in Lahore’s neighborhood where the center operated.
Parents and relatives mourned deeply, with many expressing anger towards the center’s owner. They blamed him for running classes in what they termed an unsafe building. Grief-stricken families gathered for funeral prayers planned for later in the day.
Lahore, located in Punjab province, sees many parents enrolling their children in private tutoring centers after school hours. Both Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed condolences and urged for safety measures to prevent such devastating incidents in future.
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