FES: At least 22 people were killed and 16 injured when two adjacent buildings collapsed in the historic Moroccan city of Fes, local authorities confirmed on Thursday. Fes is one of Morocco’s oldest cities.
Officials said one of the buildings was vacant. The second housed eight families and was hosting an aqeeqah ceremony to celebrate a child’s birth at the time of the collapse. The prosecutor’s office said the death toll is based on initial reports and that a formal investigation has begun.
A survivor, who lost his wife and three children, told a local TV channel that rescuers had recovered one body but he was still searching for the rest of his family.
Footage aired by the state broadcaster SNRT showed rescue workers and residents pulling victims from the debris. An elderly woman said her son warned that the building was shaking, and as they ran outside, the structure collapsed. Witnesses said both buildings had visible cracks for some time.
Authorities have launched judicial, technical, and administrative inquiries to determine why the four-storey structures failed. The buildings were constructed in 2006 under a government programme that relocated residents of informal settlements and allowed them to build homes on allocated plots.
Wednesday’s collapse is among Morocco’s worst disasters in the past 15 years. In 2010, a historic minaret fell in the northern city of Meknes, killing 41 people.
Fes, an eighth-century former capital and Morocco’s third-largest city, witnessed protests two months ago over poor economic conditions and weak public services.
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In January, Housing Minister Adib Ben Ibrahim reported that nearly 38,800 buildings across the country had been declared at risk.
