Four children killed, 20 injured in DG Khan school roof collapse

• Classroom roof caves in at The Little Scholars School during school hours

• Victims include four children aged 5 to 8, rescue officials confirm

• Sixteen students, two teachers among 20 injured in tragic incident

• School owner arrested; inquiry ordered into building fitness certificate and safety lapse

 LAHORE/DG KHAN: At least four children were killed and 20 others injured on Thursday when the roof of a classroom at a private school collapsed in Dera Ghazi Khan City, rescue and police officials confirmed.

“The incident occurred at around 11:52am when the roof of a classroom at The Little Scholars School, located on a road between V and W blocks of DG Khan City, suddenly collapsed,” said Rescue 1122 District Emergency Officer (DEO) Engineer Ahmad Kamal.

He confirmed that four students were pulled out dead from the debris. The deceased were identified as Ghania Zohra (8), Masoom Fatima (5), Dua Aimen (6) and Muhammad Abdullah (6).

“After receiving information, rescue teams immediately reached the site and carried out prompt rescue operations,” he added.

A preliminary report issued by the district administration confirmed that among the injured were 16 students, two teachers and two labourers.

The injured included Saima (26), Ume Hani (7), Sher Ali (8), Noor Hareem (7), Shajiha (5), Adnan (6), Saba Murtaza (6), M. Arish (7), Hamema Jabbar (8), M. Azlan, Kabir Qadir, M. Saboor, M. Afnan, Maleeha Khan (7), Sidra Rafiq (30), Jariatul Zehra (6), Narmeen Fatima (6), Badar Muhiuddin (7), Mumtaz (27) and Sanaullah (28).

Rescue 1122 teams shifted the injured to Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital for medical treatment.

The report stated that the incident was reported around noon, following which rescue personnel and ambulances were dispatched to the site. Initial responders reached the scene within four minutes, it added.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad, rescue teams, district administration officials and local residents jointly participated in the operation to pull students and teachers out from under the rubble.

District administration officials said preliminary findings suggested that construction work for an extension of the school building was underway when the roof of the classroom collapsed.

The report added that construction material, including sand and bricks, had been placed on the roof, which could not bear the load and ultimately gave way.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the concerned authorities.

Following the incident, DG Khan Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmad Chaudhry, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Azhar Akram and District Police Officer (DPO) Sadiq Baloch visited the site to review the situation and monitor the rescue operation.

DG Khan Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Usman Khalid said the school owner had been arrested after the registration of a case in connection with the roof collapse.

He added that construction material for an under-construction building had been stored on the school roof.

He further said that 780 students were enrolled in the educational institute, and an investigation had been launched into how such a large number of students were accommodated in a five-to-six marla building.

The deputy commissioner also stated that officials who had issued the building fitness certificate were being investigated as part of the inquiry.

Khalid vowed that all those responsible would be brought to justice.