Ismail Jai El Mansouri, president of the Zouagha district council in Fes, expressed sorrow over the deaths caused by the collapse of two adjacent buildings late Tuesday into Wednesday, saying the incident was “a shock,” even if “it is destiny.”
El Mansouri told Hespress AR that the structures, located in the Bensouda area, were built nearly 20 years ago after their owners received plots of land under a 2006 resettlement program. He said the buildings were constructed in line with standards and permits granted at the time, though he acknowledged that residents “may have added extra floors or extensions.”
The district head said his office had not received any requests for repairs or renovation from the owners of the buildings before the collapse.
Regarding the survivors, El Mansouri said the Fes-Meknes regional authorities are overseeing their situation under the instructions of the regional governor. Some residents have been temporarily housed in hotels, and neighbors of the collapsed buildings were instructed to evacuate out of concern for further structural risks.
The public prosecutor at the Fes First Instance Court has opened an investigation into the causes of the collapse, which killed 22 people.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office said the judicial police were instructed to determine the real causes and circumstances of the incident. According to the same source, one of the buildings was unoccupied, while the second was hosting an aqiqa celebration when it collapsed. Sixteen others were injured with varying degrees of severity.
Local authorities said security forces and civil protection units were dispatched immediately to the site to conduct search-and-rescue operations. They secured the area, evacuated surrounding homes as a precaution, and transferred injured residents to the Fes University Hospital for treatment.
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