LAHORE: Two adults and six children were buried alive, and three were injured when the roof of an academy came crashing down in the Punjab province of Pakistan, an official said Sunday.
The incident took place in Hafizabad city, some 120 kms from northwest of Lahore, on Saturday evening.
Two teachers and nine students were present in a classroom of the academy when its roof collapsed, according to the Punjab Emergency Department Rescue 1122.
"They were trapped under the rubble. The rescue teams recovered four students alive and shifted them to a hospital, where one of them succumbed to his injuries," Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
The bodies of seven others -- five students, aged between six and 10, and their two teachers -- were recovered and sent to the city mortuary, it added.
It is believed that the structure of the building housing the academy had turned weak because of the recent torrential rains.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who expressed a deep sense of grief and sorrow over the death of eight people, including children, has sought a report on the incident from the district administration.