Lahore roof collapse kills 14 schoolchildren, injures 20

At least 14 schoolchildren were killed and 20 others injured after the roof of a private tuition centre operating from an under-construction building collapsed in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday. The children, aged between seven and 13, were attending classes at the academy in the densely populated Kahna Nau area when the roof caved in, trapping them beneath the debris. Police said 20 injured children and a female teacher were taken to hospital for treatment. "So far, 14 bodies of children have been recovered from the debris," said Lahore Deputy Inspector General Operations Faisal Kamran, as cited by PTI. "A part of the building was under construction and labourers were busy at work when the roof collapsed. We have arrested the contractor," Kamran added. Lahore District Education Authority Chief Executive Officer Tariq Mahmood said the building housed a private tuition centre operated by a local woman. The Edhi Foundation said the roof of the academy, located in a residential building in the Basti Eid Gah locality of Kahna Nau, "collapsed suddenly." "The bodies of the deceased were shifted to the morgue at General Hospital," the Edhi Foundation said in a statement, adding that the death toll could rise as some children remain trapped under the debris. The charity said the injured had been taken to hospital, where their condition was reported to be stable. Rescue operations were continuing at full pace, with Edhi ambulances deployed at the site to provide emergency medical assistance, it added. Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz directed police and district authorities to identify those responsible for the collapse and initiate criminal proceedings against them.