ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Islamabad expressed solidarity with Pakistan this week after the roof of a private school in the country’s northwest collapsed and killed 35 people, including 34 children.

The incident took place on Thursday morning, when the roof of a private school in the northwestern Peshawar’s Dir Colony neighborhood collapsed. As per the latest official count, 34 children and one female teacher were killed in the incident while several others were injured.

Rescue workers struggled for hours to retrieve victims from the rubble at the privately run Al-Khair Education Center. Pakistani authorities have ordered a probe into the roof collapse, with Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Dr. Mian Saeed saying that the roof of the “weak building structure” was overloaded with construction that led to the collapse.

“The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan following the school roof collapse incident in the city of Peshawar, which resulted in numerous deaths and injuries,” the statement said on Thursday.

“The Kingdom expresses its support for Pakistan and its brotherly people in this affliction, and extends its sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased, while wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.”

Most of the victims of the school roof collapse were not older than 13 and came from low-income families.

Distraught relatives demanded accountability, accusing the school administration of ignoring concerns about the building’s condition.

“Make an example of them, a lesson for all, so that no one dares open a school just to make money without providing facilities,” Mohammad Zaman, who lost two nephews in the collapse, told Reuters.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured and all necessary assistance to affected families, according to a statement from the PM office on Thursday.

Sharif sought a comprehensive report on the incident and instructed officials to investigate all aspects of the collapse and take legal action against those responsible.