Death Toll from Morocco Building Collapse Surpasses Twenty
The disaster struck late Tuesday in the Al-Mustaqbal neighborhood when a vacant structure gave way, destabilizing and bringing down a neighboring four-story building, according to the prosecutor. The occupied building was hosting a traditional Aqiqah celebration marking a birth at the time of collapse.
Women and children comprised a significant portion of the casualties. Sixteen additional victims sustained injuries, several facing life-threatening conditions. Officials cautioned the death toll may increase as emergency crews continue sifting through debris.
Judicial police have launched a formal investigation under prosecutorial oversight to establish what triggered the structural failure. Initial assessments indicate both buildings date to 2006 construction.
Regional authorities revealed the structures were erected through "self-construction" schemes designed for Ain Smen area residents under the "Fez, City Without Slums" program.
The tragedy has reignited alarm over Morocco's building integrity crisis. In January, Secretary of State for Housing Adib Ben Ibrahim disclosed that approximately 38,800 structures across the nation face imminent collapse risk.
Fez, Morocco's third-largest urban center, has witnessed demonstrations in recent months protesting inadequate living standards and failing public infrastructure. The incident ranks among the deadliest building disasters in the country since a minaret collapse in the historic city of Meknes claimed 41 lives in 2010.
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