At least 14 children were killed on Tuesday when the roof of a private tutoring centre collapsed in the Kahna Nau area of Lahore, eastern Pakistan. Rescue officials said the building, a residential structure housing an after-school academy, gave way while dozens of pupils were inside.

The dead were aged between 4 and 16, according to medical sources, with most under nine. A female teacher was also injured. Police said the owner of the centre and a contractor had been arrested, and Punjab’s information minister stated that preliminary reports indicated the facility was unregistered and operating under a dilapidated roof. The minister added that authorities had been directed to survey unsafe buildings ahead of the monsoon season and to impose stricter rules on such informal educational centres.

The number of injured remains unclear: some rescue officials reported eight children hospitalised, while other accounts cited up to 20. Reports also differed on whether the search had concluded; some local media said rescue operations were completed by early evening, while police and rescue spokespeople indicated that more children could still be trapped beneath the debris. The building was reportedly undergoing construction on an upper floor, and labourers were working at the time of the collapse.

Building collapses are frequent in Pakistan, where, according to analysts, construction standards are often poorly enforced and substandard materials are widely used. The tutoring centre, like many across the country, provided extra lessons outside regular school hours in a residential neighbourhood. Punjab’s chief minister has ordered criminal proceedings against those responsible, and a transparent investigation has been promised. The death toll remains provisional as authorities continue to verify the number of missing.