The roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 others, in one of the deadliest building collapses involving a school in Pakistan in recent memory. The toll was still being confirmed as rescue teams cleared the rubble.

The collapse took place at the Al-Khair Education Centre in the Dir Colony area of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lady Reading Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim said all the children killed or injured were 13 years old or younger, and that some of the injured were in critical condition. Six girls were among the dead. The hospital declared an emergency as it received the wounded. Peshawar’s capital city police chief put the number of injured at more than 40 in an early assessment, while later reports citing hospital officials gave a figure above 50.

Rescue efforts began within minutes. Residents of the congested neighbourhood were among the first to reach the site, pulling debris away by hand before emergency teams arrived. Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the emergency services, said several children were trapped under the rubble in the early hours of the operation. A few hours later, rescue officials said that everyone who had been trapped had been pulled out, and crews were continuing to clear the debris. Images from the scene showed volunteers making way for ambulances and rescuers carrying injured children from the wreckage.

Early accounts from the school suggest the collapse came at the start of the day. A teacher who was injured told the Associated Press from her hospital bed that she was in her classroom when the roof fell, and that the lesson had barely begun. She said the school had about 1,200 students enrolled, though Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Islamabad reported about 350 registered students, a gap that will need to be cleared up as the investigation proceeds. It is also unclear how many students were in the building at the time.

Authorities have already pointed to the condition of the structure. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed said the building was weak, and that its roof was overloaded with construction built on a fragile structure, which caused the collapse, according to Reuters. The school’s owner has been arrested, and an investigation has been ordered to establish the exact cause. Those statements are preliminary, and a formal technical inquiry will be needed to determine what failed and why.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the loss of life, directed officials to ensure that all injured children received the best possible medical treatment, and instructed authorities to speed up rescue and relief operations. Other officials called for a comprehensive investigation and for stronger checks to make sure school buildings meet safety standards so that similar tragedies are not repeated.

The tragedy raises questions that go beyond a single building. A structure described by police as weak was in use as a school with hundreds of children inside, which makes it important to ask when it was last inspected, whether additional floors or heavy construction had been added to the roof, and who was responsible for approving it for use. Private schools, particularly in crowded urban neighbourhoods, often operate out of buildings that were not originally designed for classrooms, and checks on their structural safety have long been a concern in education and urban planning circles. Whether Thursday’s collapse prompts a wider review of school buildings in Peshawar and across the province is something parents and teachers will be watching closely.

The collapse also comes at an unusual moment for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is currently being run under an emergency and governor’s rule, with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi overseeing provincial affairs with the help of an advisory council. The way the administration handles the response, from supporting the families of the dead and injured to the inquiry into the building, will be an early test of that arrangement.

For now, the immediate focus is on the families. Hospitals in Peshawar are treating dozens of injured children, some in serious condition, while relatives wait for news of the missing and bodies are handed over. The final toll may rise, and the number of children in the building at the time is still to be confirmed.

Compiled by the Weekly PK National Desk.