School building collapses in Lahore, killing one and injuring four

LAHORE: An eight-year-old boy was killed and four other people were injured on Thursday when part of the roof of an under-construction school building collapsed in Lahore’s Baghbanpura area, rescue officials and eyewitnesses said.

The incident occurred near Women College Road, where construction work was under way to expand the school building.

Rescue officials said that the newly built roof gave way during the work, sending debris crashing down.

The victim, identified as Abdullah, son of Amjad Butt, was a student at the same school.

Eyewitnesses said the boy had just exited the school gate when he was struck by the falling debris.

A summer camp was under way at the school at the time of the collapse, with children present on the premises. The Punjab government had allowed summer camps until June 30.

The incident came despite the Punjab government’s approval for summer camps only through June 30.

A spokesperson for Rescue 1122 service said the emergency control room received the call at 12:12 pm. Seven rescue vehicles and 25 rescuers were dispatched to the scene, where they carried out relief and rescue operations.

The victims of the building collapse were rushed to Lahore’s Services Hospital, where one child was pronounced dead while four injured were under treatment, the hospital’s medical superintendent said.

The official said the deceased was a child, while the four injured admitted to the hospital were adults.

Authorities have not yet shared the cause of the collapse as an investigation is under way.

Meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat took notice of the school operating an illegal summer camp in the scool.

The minister sought a report from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lahore’s education authority and said strict action would be taken against the school if it was found to have been running a summer camp in violation of government orders.

“No school was permitted to hold summer camps after July 1,” Rana Sikandar said, adding that authorities would take action against any institution found violating the directive.

The incident occurred barely two days after at least 14 children were killed and eight others, including a teacher, injured on Tuesday when the roof of a residential building housing a home-based tuition centre collapsed in Lahore’s Kahna area.

More than 30 students were inside the makeshift academy, located in a house in the Basti Eidgah neighbourhood of Kahna, when the structure suddenly caved in and trapped dozens under heavy debris.

A spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation confirmed that 14 bodies had been recovered from the site and shifted to the mortuary at Lahore General Hospital. At least five children were also injured who were rushed to nearby medical facilities.