Two four-storey buildings collapsed in the Moroccan city of Fez, killing at least 19 people, according to a provisional toll reported by the country’s official news agency.
“Sixteen other people were wounded, with varying degrees of severity,” the Maghreb Arabe Press (MAP) agency reported, adding that search operations were still ongoing to “save other people who may be buried under the rubble”.
The two adjacent structures, which housed eight families, collapsed overnight in the major northern city’s Al-Moustakbal neighbourhood, in the Al-Massira area, according to MAP.
Images from the pre-dawn scene showed first responders carrying a corpse in a grey body bag to waiting emergency vehicles, as residents gathered to watch the rescue efforts.
Other workers, using jackhammers and pickaxes, tried to dig through the rubble, occasionally assisted by mechanical excavators. Local authorities have indicated that the toll could rise in the coming hours.
MAP reported that safety officials had conducted “necessary preventative measures”, including securing the surrounding area and evacuating neighbouring buildings. The agency added that the injured were taken to Fez’s University Hospital Centre.
