PESHAWAR: A collective funeral prayer has been offered for 16 students who lost their lives in the tragic roof collapse at Al-Khair School System, a private educational institution in Peshawar’s Dir Colony.
The funeral prayer was attended by the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, senior civil administration officials and a large number of local residents. Strict security arrangements were made on the occasion.
Following the funeral prayer, the bodies were transported to the victims’ ancestral graveyards, where the deceased students were laid to rest.
The tragic incident occurred earlier in the day on College Road in Dair Colony, Peshawar, when the roof of the school building suddenly collapsed. The incident raised serious concerns about the structural safety of the building.
Rescue operations were launched immediately after the collapse, and the deceased and injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where an emergency was declared in view of the situation.
According to LRH spokesperson Muhammad Asim, a total of 22 people, including 21 children and a female teacher, were brought to the hospital in a deceased state.
The deceased children were aged between six and 14 years, including six girls.
Hospital authorities said that all injured victims were being provided with the best possible medical treatment. However, the condition of some injured children remained critical.
The tragedy has cast a pall of grief over the area, as families mourn the loss of young lives in an incident that has renewed concerns about the safety of school buildings and the need for proper construction standards.
