At least 27 pupils and a teacher were killed in Pakistan when the roof of a school collapsed during classes in the north-western city of Peshawar on Thursday, authorities said.
The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams continue searching for children trapped beneath the rubble of the privately run Al Khair Education Centre.
“We have taken out at least 45 children,” said district emergency officer Iftikhar Khan. More pupils are believed to be buried under the debris, he added.
Government official Bilal Faizi said rescue teams were working to recover bodies and transport the injured to hospital.
At least 20 injured people and most of those killed were taken to the city’s Lady Reading Hospital, according to hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim.
A rescue official said the roof of an upper floor collapsed on to the classrooms below, causing both storeys to cave in. The incident took place in the middle of the school day.
Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed said only 47 of the 110 students, most under the age of 13, who were inside the classrooms when the roof collapsed had been rescued.
“It was a weak building structure,” Mr Saeed said. He said excessive weight from construction on the roof caused the collapse.
Authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause of the disaster.