Two residential buildings have fallen down overnight in Morocco's third-largest city Fez

At least 19 people were killed and 16 others injured when two adjacent residential buildings collapsed in Morocco's third-largest city Fez, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. 

The incident occurred overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, affecting two residential buildings which were reportedly home to eight families.

According to the state news agency MAP, local authorities said "the injured have been transferred to the University Hospital Center in Fez to undergo the necessary examinations and receive essential treatment, while search parties continue to rescue other people trapped under the rubble."

The perimeter of the collapsed buildings was secured, and residents from surrounding structures were evacuated as a precaution.

Building safety is a major concern in Morocco; as of 2024, the kingdom's National Agency for Urban Renewal and the Rehabilitation of Buildings at Risk of Collapse reported that more than 42,000 buildings require assessment, monitoring, or intervention due to structural vulnerability. 

In January, Morocco's Secretary of State for Housing Adib Ben Ibrahim announced that authorities had carried out a nationwide inventory of 38,800 buildings identified as being at risk of collapse.

A similar incident in May left 10 dead and seven injured in a property that had already been slated for evacuation, Moroccan media outlets reported.

The disaster occurred amidst growing public dissatisfaction with housing conditions and the quality of government services. In September, groups such as 'GenZ 212' coordinated protests via TikTok, Instagram, and Discord. Another network, Morocco Youth Voices, also urged people to take to the streets, framing the protests as peaceful assemblies intended to draw attention to social policy.  

Fez has been selected as one of the venues for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and is listed among the candidate host cities for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

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Responding to criticism over public investment priorities, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, who also serves as mayor of Agadir, dismissed claims that spending on the FIFA World Cup was diverting resources from basic services.