A teacher was among the victims of a school building collapse in Peshawar’s Dir Colony, where 33 children and one teacher lost their lives. The 25-year-old teacher, Samreen, was a resident of Khan Mast Colony in Peshawar. She belonged to the Afridi tribe of Darra Adam Khel and hailed from Qasim Khel village. She was laid to rest in her native area.

Samreen’s maternal uncle, Sardar Bahadur, told Tribal News Network (TNN) that on the day of the incident, she was in an unusual hurry to reach school early in the morning. She wanted to request leave to attend a relative’s wedding in her village. Little did she know that the day she was going to school to submit her leave application would turn out to be the last day of her life.

According to Sardar Bahadur, Samreen was cheerful and courteous. Her father died when she was 12, after which Sardar Bahadur took responsibility for the educational expenses and other needs of the siblings. Samreen was the third among her siblings. She had completed her bachelor’s degree and fulfilled her dream of becoming a schoolteacher, but her journey was cut short.

Her uncle said Samreen had previously taught at another private school in a nearby area but had joined the school where the incident occurred only a few months ago. One of her sisters was also a schoolteacher, but she had left her job some time earlier.

According to Sardar Bahadur, Samreen had left home on the day of the incident with a leave application so she could travel to her native village in Darra Adam Khel, Kohat, to attend a relative’s wedding.

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“She was in an unusual hurry that morning to reach school early, obtain leave and travel to Darra Adam Khel to attend the wedding. But Allah had other plans. Samreen could not make it to the wedding, and instead, her body reached her native area,” he said.

Yasir Awan, a resident of Khan Mast Colony near the school in Dir Colony, Peshawar, also has children studying at the same institution. He told TNN that Samreen was a highly capable teacher who belonged to a respected family in the area.

According to Yasir Awan, his children told him that when Samreen realised bricks had started falling from the ceiling, she immediately began evacuating the children from the classroom.

She went back inside the classroom to rescue more students and continued trying to bring them outside. However, when she re-entered the room to save additional children, the school’s roof completely collapsed, trapping her underneath and killing her.

Yasir Awan said the entire neighbourhood, including the children, was deeply saddened by Samreen’s death.

Noor Wali, who lives near the school in Dir Colony, told TNN that he works security duty and also transports passengers on his motorcycle. He was at home when the incident occurred. Seven of his children, including his nephews, study at the same school.

Noor Wali said he rushed to the school as soon as he received news that its roof had collapsed. He described scenes of chaos, saying he ran around desperately searching for his children.

One of his children was in the classroom where the roof collapsed, while the others were in different classrooms. His other children remained safe, while one child, Mikael, sustained minor injuries and was found.

Noor Wali further said that when he reached the school’s second floor, rescue personnel were carrying Samreen’s body out. He helped them transfer her body to an ambulance. According to him, she had suffered severe injuries to the right side of her forehead, resembling wounds caused by an axe.

Besides Samreen, another teacher, Mahwish, was also injured in the school building collapse. She has since been discharged from hospital and sent home, but remains traumatised by the incident.

Mahwish’s brother, Ehsan Khan, told TNN that his sister holds a master’s degree in Islamic Studies and taught at the same school. He said her condition was now out of danger, but doctors had advised the family not to discuss the incident in front of her.

Ehsan Khan said his sister was sitting in a classroom on the third floor when the roof collapsed on her. She continues to ask about her friend Samreen, wondering where she is and how she is doing. However, her family reassures her by telling her that Samreen is in hospital and recovering.