Over 20 killed as two buildings collapse in Morocco's Fes city

Two residential buildings housed eight families; search and rescue operations ongoing, 16 injured

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At least 22 people were killed and 16 others injured overnight when two adjacent buildings collapsed in Fez, one of Morocco's oldest cities, the prosecutor said on Wednesday.

MAP, Morocco's state news agency, reported the two residential buildings housed eight families. Sixteen people were injured in the collapse and taken to the hospital. Authorities said the neighborhood had been evacuated and search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

It was unclear what caused the collapse or how many people were unaccounted for on Wednesday morning, but authorities said an investigation had been opened. MAP reported that the structures were built in 2006 during a self-construction initiative called “City Without Slums.”

One building was unoccupied, while the second was hosting an Aqiqah, a traditional Muslim celebration marking the birth of a child, the Fez prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor said the death toll was preliminary and that an investigation has been opened.

Eight families lived in the building where the celebration was taking place, they said.