By: The Trek News Desk
A tragic building collapse in the northern Moroccan city of Fes claimed at least 19 lives early Wednesday, while 16 others were left injured. According to the country’s state news agency, the death toll may rise as rescue teams continue searching for survivors who may still be trapped beneath the rubble.
The incident occurred in the Al-Moustakbal neighbourhood, where two adjacent four-storey residential buildings suddenly crumbled overnight. Authorities said that eight families were living in the structures at the time of the collapse. Emergency teams swiftly moved the injured to the University Hospital Centre in Fes, while rescue workers began combing through debris in a race against time.
Local officials reported that safety crews quickly cordoned off the surrounding area and evacuated nearby buildings to prevent further casualties. Preliminary assessments indicate that the wounded suffered a mix of serious and minor injuries.
This disaster has once again drawn attention to structural vulnerabilities in Morocco’s ageing residential zones. In February last year, a house collapsed in Fes’s old city, killing five people. A few years earlier, in 2016, two separate building failures within the same week in different cities left several dead and more than two dozen injured.
The incident also comes at a time when frustrations over deteriorating living conditions and inadequate public services have fuelled widespread protests across the country. In September, demonstrations broke out as citizens demanded action on poverty, infrastructure, and housing safety standards.
Source: News Agencies
