At least 14 schoolchildren died after the roof of a tutoring center collapsed in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday. Rescue officials reported that the children killed were aged 5 to 16, with most victims under the age of nine. Eight other children and a 30-year-old female teacher were injured and treated at a hospital.
The tutoring center was housed in an aging, privately owned residential building that was under construction. Rescuers continued to search through the rubble for more trapped children after the roof of an unfinished second floor collapsed. Reports indicate that workers had been repairing tiles on the building at the time of the incident, which was attributed to poor-quality construction.
Authorities have launched a negligence investigation and arrested the owner of the tutoring center along with another individual. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari stated that preliminary reports showed the facility was unregistered. Bokhari warned that those responsible would face strict legal action if negligence or law violations are established, and directed authorities to survey unsafe buildings ahead of the monsoon season and introduce stricter rules for unregistered educational facilities.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the tragedy, offering condolences to the victims' families and calling for effective safety measures to prevent similar incidents. Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where safety regulations are frequently ignored to reduce costs and construction standards are often poorly enforced.