22 dead, 16 injured as two buildings collapse in Morocco

At least 22 people have died after two adjacent buildings in the Al-Masira neighbourhood of Fez, a Moroccan city, collapsed late Tuesday night.

The collapse left 16 injured with varying degrees of severity. Authorities said numbers are expected to rise.

SNRT News, the state media, reported that the two four-storey residential buildings housed eight families.

A family was celebrating the birth of a child when one of the buildings collapsed.

The other building, which prosecutors said was unoccupied, collapsed after the adjacent structure fell on it, according to a resident who spoke to Hespress, local media.

Footage from SNRT showed rescue teams sifting through debris aided by flashlights under the cover of darkness to find survivors.

On Wednesday, the public prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation by the judicial police to determine the causes and circumstances of the incident.

Fez is one of Morocco’s oldest and most populous cities.

The city, which dates back to the eighth century, also has some of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods.

Nine people were killed when a building collapsed in the old city in May. Last February, a separate building collapse killed five.

In October, the former Moroccan capital was among cities in the North African country which saw hundreds of youth lead anti-government protests in a period where demonstrations were sweeping through the continent.

The Moroccan youths demanded better social services and less corruption.

The protests were sparked by the billions in investment flowing toward preparations for the 2030 World Cup while schools, residential houses, and hospitals were in dire states.