LAHORE — Fourteen children died after the roof of a tuition center collapsed in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, officials said.
Punjab province’s emergency service said rescuers pulled children under the age of 10 and a 30-year-old female teacher from the rubble of the after-school facility.
Another five people are believed to have been injured.
Authorities launched an investigation into the collapse in the Kahna suburb of Lahore, and two people were taken into custody as part of the initial inquiry.
Farooq Ahmed, a spokesman for the emergency service Rescue 1122, told the BBC they had received a call about the incident at 16:45 (12:45 BST).
He said that the rescue operation had been completed within one hour, and most people recovered were between seven and 11 years old.
A man who said his niece was among the victims told AFP the roof of the building had been “in poor shape”.
Zaheer, 45, told the news agency that tiles on the roof had been undergoing repairs while the children studied.
“Suddenly the roof collapsed on top of quite a few children,” he said. “They put a lot of weight on the roof and that’s why this has happened.”
Another resident told the Associated Press: “We don’t know whose home to visit first to offer condolences for the loss of their children.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences following the incident in a statement reported by AFP.
In the message, attributed to his office, Sharif said he “prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and directed the authorities to provide them with every possible medical assistance”.
The chief minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, called it a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
In a message shared on X, she said that “the loss of 14 innocent lives is an immeasurable sorrow, and my heart goes out to the grieving families”.
“Every individual found accountable will face the full force of the law,” she added.
Source: Saudi Gazette