At least 14 children were killed and several others injured when the roof of a coaching academy collapsed in eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, officials said.
Most of the children who perished were between the ages of 4 and 12. They died of suffocation after they were buried under the rubble, rescue official Farooq Ahmed said.
Classes were under way at the privately run academy when the roof collapsed, entrapping at least 20 students and two teachers, Ahmed said.
Rescue workers retrieved the bodies and injured students after more than two hours of the operation, he added.
The rescue operation has been completed and the injured students and teachers were being treated at hospital in the city, local police official Faisal Kamran said.
The part of the compound was under construction and labourers were working when the accident occurred, Kamran said. At least two people including the owner of the building have been arrested for interrogation, he added.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow on the loss of life in the accident and ordered authorities to provide the best medical care to the injured people.
