Mourners gathered in the city of Lahore to bury 14 schoolchildren who were killed when the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed.
Police are investigating whether negligence during ongoing construction work caused the collapse on Tuesday that left another eight children injured and hospitalised in stable condition.
Residents and preliminary police findings indicate the tutoring centre was operating in an ageing building. Investigators believe the unfinished roof of the second floor may have collapsed because of poor construction.
At least two people, including the building owner, were arrested as investigators tried to determine who was responsible, senior police official Kamran Faisal said yesterday, adding that negligence by the owner and construction workers appear to have caused the collapse.
“We are still investigating to determine exactly whose negligence resulted in this tragic incident,” Faisal said.
Funeral prayers for the children, who were up to 14 years old, began before dawn and continued through yesterday morning.
Most of the victims were buried in a local graveyard, while some families planned to take the bodies to their native towns for burial.
Ambulances transported the victims’ bodies overnight to their homes in Kahna, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Lahore.
As the bodies were returned to their families, cries echoed through the neighbourhood.
Mothers and female relatives sat beside the bodies throughout the night while classmates and friends of the victims stood nearby in tears.
Funeral mourners yesterday morning included Mohammad Ashfaq, a labourer whose seven-year-old son and nephew were killed in the collapse.
“I cannot express my pain and grief in words,” Ashfaq said through tears as relatives tried to comfort him.
Local resident Mohammad Tahir said neighbours were the first to respond after the roof gave way.
“Rescuers arrived quickly, but before they reached us, neighbours rushed in with shovels and even dug through the debris with their bare hands,” Tahir said.
“We also pulled children from the rubble, but many could not be saved.” — AP
