Lahore tuition centre roof collapse: Punjab police book five after 14 deaths

Lahore,UPDATED: Jul 1, 2026 20:36 IST

Punjab police have booked five people, including a builder and the owners of a tuition centre, a day after the roof of the facility collapsed in Lahore, killing 14 schoolchildren and injuring 20 others. The Punjab government has announced compensation of PKR 20 lakh each for the families of those killed and PKR 5 lakh for each of the injured, while Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has ordered strict action against those found responsible.

Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran said the five accused have been booked under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 337-H (hurt caused by rash or negligent act) of the Pakistan Penal Code, and two of them have been arrested. The collapse took place on Tuesday when around 35 children were attending classes at the tuition centre, which was operating from an under-construction building in the densely populated Kahna Nau area.

Police said one of the suspects' wives was teaching at the tuition centre when the roof collapsed and she was also injured in the incident. Eight girls and six boys, aged between five and 13 years, died in the collapse.

Rescue teams pulled 20 injured children from the debris and shifted them to hospitals. Authorities said their condition was stable and that some of them had already been discharged.

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N president Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the tragedy, describing the victims as "the future of our nation". He said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who is also his daughter, had assured him that a transparent and impartial inquiry would be conducted and that those responsible would be brought to justice.

According to a Geo News report, roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials. In July last year, 27 people were killed and 10 others injured when a five-storey building collapsed in Karachi's Lyari area. The Lahore case has so far led to bookings against five people, two arrests, compensation for the victims' families, and an inquiry into a collapse that left 14 children dead and 20 injured.

With PTI Inputs

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