Eyewitnesses and neighbors of the victims of the “tragedy of the collapse of two adjacent buildings” in the city of Fez said that “the neighborhood where the accident took place is witnessing a state of activity in random construction, and the addition of floors of up to five.”

Idriss, one of the victims’ neighbors, revealed in a statement to Hespress that there were buildings constructed without a license or even a building plan, and random additions to residential floors reaching four or five.

The spokesman added that a state of “shock” accompanied the victims’ neighbors on this painful night, especially since the collapse happened “in a matter of seconds,” causing a state of fear among the residents who rushed out into the street from their homes.

Abdelali, a resident of the neighborhood, confirmed, “The haphazard construction that this neighborhood is known for, where a number of citizens deliberately build additional floors without strong support, which causes disasters like this.”

Abdelali told Hespress that the incident began after the first building collapsed suddenly, which, due to the pressure, led to the collapse of the second building, calling for “preventing the random construction of residential floors in the neighborhood, through a monitoring campaign.”

Bilal Ben Daoud, a community activist in the region, stated that such incidents bring back to the forefront “the responsibility of citizens to build additional floors in violation of building permits, which threatens their safety and the safety of their neighbors.”

Osama Al-Idrissi, Vice President of the “Zouagha” district, told Hespress that the buildings are in a fragile state, even though his district does not have a large spread of random construction.

Local authorities in the Fes province reported that, in an initial count, 19 people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries of varying severity in the collapse of two adjacent (4-story) buildings inhabited by 8 families.

Authorities, in official statements obtained by Hespress, added that local and security authorities, along with civil protection services, rushed to the scene immediately upon being notified of the incident to begin search and rescue operations. These services took all necessary measures, including securing the perimeter of the two collapsed buildings and evacuating residents of neighboring houses as a precautionary measure to ensure their safety in case of any other potential dangers.

The injured people were transferred to the University Hospital Center in Fez to undergo the necessary examinations and receive the necessary treatments; while search and rescue operations are continuing, up to this hour, to save and rescue other people who may be trapped under the rubble.