At least 33 students and one teacher were killed when the roof of a classroom collapsed at a private school in Peshawar, Pakistan, hospital officials confirmed.
More than a dozen students were injured, some critically, and several children are feared to still be trapped beneath the debris.
Rescue officials said emergency services were called to the private Al‑Khair school in Dir Colony at 08:48 local time (03:48 GMT) on Thursday, shortly after classes had started.
He told the BBC that the roof of an upper‑floor classroom gave way, causing the ceilings of rooms below to collapse as well.
Warning: This article contains distressing details
“The children in the affected classrooms were trapped under the debris,” said official Bilal Faizi.
The school is housed in a temporary structure, according to emergency official Arif Khattak.
Initially thought to involve only a two‑storey section, the collapse ultimately affected classrooms across three floors, police chief Mian Saeed said. Approximately 30 students were in the top floor class, 40 in the middle, and 45 on the ground floor.
When the upper‑floor classroom roof gave way, the falling rubble pierced the rooms below, causing their ceilings to collapse as well.
Saeed said the entire building, which featured substandard roof slabs, was overloaded beyond its safe load capacity.
