14 children killed in Pakistan when tutoring center roof collapses

LAHORE, Pakistan — Fourteen children died after the roof of a tutoring center collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, rescue officials said, as authorities opened the door to a possible negligence investigation.

Punjab’s emergency services reported that rescuers recovered the bodies of children and a 30-year-old female teacher from the rubble of the private after-school facility.

The children who died were between 5 and 16 years old, with most under the age of 9.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said preliminary findings indicated the tutoring center was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building with a severely deteriorated roof.

Such tutoring centers are common across Pakistan, where students often attend additional lessons outside regular school hours.

“If negligence, carelessness, or any violation of the law is established, those responsible will face strict legal action,” Bokhari said in a statement.

She added that Punjab authorities have been instructed to survey unsafe buildings ahead of the monsoon season and to introduce stricter regulations for unregistered tutoring centers and private educational facilities.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths and called for stronger safety measures to prevent similar tragedies.

-Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Editing by Cynthia Osterman/Reuters