At least 28 people, including 27 students and a teacher, have been killed after the roof of a school collapsed during lessons in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, authorities have said.
Most of the students who died were under the age of 13, while officials warned that the death toll could rise as rescue operations continued at the scene.
The incident occurred at the private Al-Khair Education Center in Dir Colony, where emergency responders were working to recover victims trapped beneath the rubble and evacuate injured students to nearby hospitals.
Hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim said most of the victims were brought to Lady Reading Hospital dead, while 20 injured people were also taken there for treatment.
Government official Bilal Faizi said rescue teams were continuing efforts to search the debris and transport survivors to medical facilities.
According to a rescue official, the roof of an upper floor collapsed onto the roof of the first floor, which subsequently gave way, trapping students inside their classrooms.
Television footage showed ambulances arriving at the scene as rescue workers pulled bloodied children from the rubble and rushed them to hospitals.
District Emergency Officer Iftikhar Khan said rescuers had recovered at least 45 children from the debris, adding that more students were believed to remain trapped.
Emergency personnel continued searching the collapsed structure as authorities worked to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether additional victims remained beneath the rubble.
The authorities warned that the casualty figures could change as rescue operations progressed.
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