19 Killed, More Than 15 Injured After Two Residential Buildings Collapse In Morocco, Eyewitnesses Describe Scenes Of Panic

Two adjacent four-storey buildings collapsed in the northeastern city of Fez, killing at least 19 and injuring 16 people on Wednesday morning, the state news agency reported. 

Local authorities in the Fez area reported that the two adjacent four-storey buildings had collapsed overnight. Eight families lived in the buildings located in the Al-Mustaqbal neighbourhood. 

Local authorities were soon informed of the incident, which prompted quick action from security services and civil protection units to rush to the scene, starting search and rescue operations.

The eyewitnesses described the scenes of panic where people and volunteers were using bare hands to pull survivors, including children, from the rubble before the machines arrived for assistance.

Authorities have said that they are launching a judicial investigation to ascertain whether structural neglect, construction violations, or administrative failings contributed to the disaster. 

The injured were transported to the university hospital centre 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 reported.

Most of Morocco’s population, financial and industrial hubs, and vital infrastructure are concentrated in the northwest, with the rest of the country reliant on farming, fisheries, and tourism.  

(This is BREAKING NEWS. More details are awaited.)