At least 19 people died and 16 others were injured early Wednesday (December 10) after two residential buildings collapsed in the northeastern Moroccan city of Fez, the state news agency reported. Local officials said adjacent four-story structures caved in overnight in the historic former capital, leaving rescue teams and local residents scrambling to survive.
At least eight families remained in the two buildings that collapsed. Local authorities, security services and civil protection units moved to the scene immediately as they were informed. Also read | Rajasthan school roof collapse: Eyewitnesses say rocks fell from roof, teachers ignored
The injured were taken to the University Hospital Center in Fez, while search and rescue operations continued around the clock to find others who may still be trapped under the rubble, the news agency said.
Most of Morocco’s population, financial, industrial centers and vital infrastructure are concentrated in the north-west, with the rest of the country dependent on agriculture, fishing and tourism. Also read | Govt’s big move after Rajasthan school roof collapse: Safety audit mandatory for all schools and student facilities
State news website SNRT said “the scene suggests that the two collapsed buildings had been showing signs of cracking for some time without any effective preventive measures being taken”.
(More details will be added as they are reported)
