The collapse of two adjacent buildings in the northern Moroccan city of Fes has killed 22 people and injured 16 others, authorities confirmed Wednesday, in what has become the deadliest accident of its kind in the kingdom in recent years.
The incident occurred overnight in the Al-Moustakbal neighbourhood of the Al-Massira area. According to the country’s official news agency MAP, rescue teams were still searching for survivors and “other people who may be buried under the rubble.”
The Fes prosecutor’s office said one of the buildings had been hosting a family celebration at the time of the collapse, while the other was unoccupied. An investigation has been opened to determine the causes of the disaster.
Images from the scene showed emergency workers carrying bodies in grey bags to waiting vehicles, while residents gathered nearby. Rescue teams used jackhammers, pickaxes, and mechanical excavators to dig through the debris.
Local accounts suggested poor construction standards may have contributed to the collapse. A resident told outlet Le 360 that when plots were distributed in 2007 under a resettlement programme, “everyone built as they wished.” TelQuel magazine reported that the homes were not subject to oversight and some tenants may not have respected development plans.
Authorities said safety officials had secured the surrounding area and evacuated neighbouring buildings. The injured were taken to Fes’s University Hospital Centre.
The accident is the deadliest building collapse in Morocco in a decade. In 2014, three buildings in Casablanca collapsed, killing 23 people. In 2016, two separate incidents in Marrakech and another city claimed six lives. More recently, Fes has seen repeated tragedies: five people died in a house collapse in February 2024, and nine were killed in May when a residential building listed as unsafe gave way despite evacuation orders.
