Pakistan, Oct. 16 -- At least 34 schoolchildren and one teacher were killed on Thursday morning when the roof of a school collapsed during morning classes in Peshawar, police and rescue officials said, prompting widespread grief across the country.

Rescue workers spent hours pulling children from the rubble of the privately run education centre, which is located in a residential area, while panicked parents and relatives gathered outside the building seeking news of their loved ones.

Most of the students killed were under 13. At least 45 people suffered major and minor injuries, said Arif Khattak, regional director of the Rescue Department.

A first-floor classroom structure collapsed onto a ground-floor classroom, with students present...