At Least 22 Killed After Pair of Multistory Buildings Suddenly Collapse onto Each Other During Night

At least 22 people have died after two multistory residential buildings collapsed in the Moroccan city of Fez, according to multiple reports.

The neighboring four-story buildings fell on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in the historic city, outlets including France 24, the BBC and Reuters reported.

Sixteen other people were injured with varying levels of severity, according to Morocco’s state news agency MAP, as cited by France 24. Emergency crews have continued working at the site in an effort to rescue anyone who may still be trapped beneath the debris.

Authorities say the death toll is expected to rise. The public prosecutor in Fez has opened an investigation into the cause of the collapse, per France 24 and Reuters.

The two buildings, which stood side by side in the Al-Moustakbal neighborhood, came down overnight, MAP reported via Reuters. One of the structures was vacant, while the other reportedly housed eight families.

Officials have implemented “necessary preventative measures,” including cordoning off the surrounding area and evacuating nearby buildings, France 24 reported, citing MAP. The injured have been transported to the University Hospital Centre in Fez for treatment.

“My son who lives upstairs told me, ‘The building is coming down,’ ” an elderly woman told local outlet SNRT News, according to Reuters. “When we went out, we saw the building collapsing.”

Another resident told local TV channel Medi1 that he lost his wife and three children in the disaster and was waiting for rescuers to recover all of their bodies, Reuters reported.

Witnesses told SNRT News that cracks had been visible in the buildings for some time before the collapse, Reuters added.

“People shouldn’t keep building and encroaching on the next building,” a resident identified only as Abdelali told local outlet Hespress, according to the BBC. He said the structures fell onto each other.

A second resident, Idris, said the entire collapse happened in about two minutes. “It was a sudden thing,” he said. “We were shocked, we couldn’t sleep, we ran away from our homes and went outside,” the BBC reported, citing the local outlet.