A child was killed, and four people were injured on Thursday when the roof of a school collapsed in Lahore’s Baghbanpura area, days after a similar tragedy in Kahna claimed 14 lives.

Police detained six female teachers and the vice principal of the school and launched an investigation into the incident.

The roof collapsed suddenly during construction work being carried out to expand the building. A summer camp was underway at the school at the time, with children present on the premises.

The deceased child was identified as Abubakar. His body and the four injured were shifted to Services Hospital.

A case was registered on the complaint of the Education Authority against the school administration and the contractor.

Assistant Education Officers Bilal Kazmi and Tahira Nazeer were suspended for failing to act against illegal summer camps.

FIR registered against contractor, school owner

Police have registered an FIR over the collapse on the complaint of Tehsildar Rai Muhammad Ashraf, naming contractor Ashraf and school owner Nazia Rizwan as accused.

According to the FIR, construction work was underway at Al-Nasr Private School, where masons and labourers were working under the contractor’s supervision.

The FIR states that the roof lintel collapsed due to the use of substandard construction material. The school building belongs to Nazia Rizwan, according to the case.

The FIR states that Abubakar was killed and four people, including one child, were injured. Police said investigations into various aspects of the incident are ongoing and that action will be taken against those found responsible in light of the evidence.

CM Punjab expresses grief

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the child’s death and condoled with the bereaved family.

She praised rescue officials for safely pulling more than 10 children from the debris and ordered that the rescue operation be expedited and that all affected individuals receive immediate medical care.

The Punjab government also decided to conduct an immediate safety audit of school buildings in densely populated areas across the province.

It sought an urgent report from the Commissioner Lahore and the Director General of Rescue 1122 on the Baghbanpura incident.

The collapse comes days after a tuition centre roof caved in in Lahore’s Kahna area on June 30, killing 14 children.

Police said construction work was underway on the upper floor of the building while children were present on the ground floor.

Three people, including the house owner Rehan, his brother Muhammad Faizan and a mason identified as Umair, were detained after that incident.

Following the Kahna tragedy, the district administration had decided to shut down all illegal tuition centres in the city and impose heavy fines on those using residential properties for commercial purposes.