LAHORE: Police on Wednesday registered a case against a contractor and the owners of a tuition centre after its roof caved in, resulting in the death of 14 children on Tuesday.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran confirmed to Dawn that the owners and the contractor who constructed the house where the tuition centre was set up were nominated in the first information report (FIR).

The FIR was registered under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 337-H (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

It was registered at the Kahna police station on the complaint of a Lahore Metropolitan Corporation official.

The complainant told police that he reached the site of the incident at around 5:15pm, where children were buried under the rubble following the roof collapseat the private tuition centre.

Fourteen children were found dead and six others injured, the FIR quoted him as saying.

The FIR said the roof collapsed due to negligence and an extra load, which was also confirmed by the district administration.According to the district administration`s incident report, the roof was overloaded as sand and bricks were placed on it, and it could not bear the load and consequently collapsed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners took part in funeral prayers at the local mosque before the deceased, mostly aged between four and 12, were carried to the graveyard for burial.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced Rs2 million for the families of the children, as per a statement issued by the adviser to the chief minister, Zeeshan Malik. CM Maryam alsoannounced Rs0.5m for the injured.

`Nothing less than a catastrophe` Broken bricks, twisted steel beams and shattered concrete lay strewn across the ground at the collapse site as residents looked on in disbelief.

`This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions,` resident Muhammad Anwer, 53, told AFP. `It is not only the families who have lost their children who have been devastated; the entire community has been left in mourning.

`For our community, this is nothing less than a catastrophe, said 48-year-old resident Aas Muhammad, adding that some families had lost multiple children when the roof gave way during their lessons. `I would like to appeal to all relevant government authorities to fulfil their responsibilities by carrying out thorough structural inspections of schools and other educational institutions,` he said, adding that the disaster should serve as a `wake-up call`