RABAT: Morocco authorities said Monday they had found the body of a person missing after a flood hit a football pitch, bringing to eight the number of people killed in last week’s tragedy.
The flood took place when a nearby river burst its banks in the southern region of Taroudant on Wednesday.
A 17-year-old boy and six elderly men were killed and have since been buried, while rescuers continued the search for an eight victim who was swept away by the flood, authorities said.
The last body was found some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the village of Tizret near where an amateur football tournament had been taking place.
Photographs and videos shared on social media showed muddy waters carrying away people who had clambered on top of a building flattened by the flood.
Authorities have opened an investigation and the government has promised to take several measures to avoid such tragedies in the future.
Morocco’s national weather service had warned of the risk of stormy rains on Wednesday afternoon in several provinces.
The heavy downpour followed a dry spell, making the floods more violent, local media reported.
Floods are common in Morocco. In late July, 15 people died in a landslide caused by flash floods on a road south of Marrakesh.
In 2014, floods killed around 50 people and caused considerable damage in the south of the country.
Between 2000 and 2013, a series of 13 major floods killed a total of 263 people in Morocco and caused considerable damage to infrastructure worth $427 million, according to the World Bank.
A study published in 2015 pointed to multiple failures in infrastructure maintenance, prevention, warning and emergency management.
Eighth body found after Morocco football match flood
Eighth body found after Morocco football match flood
- The flood took place when a nearby river burst its banks in the southern region of Taroudant
- Photographs and videos shared on social media showed muddy waters carrying away people
Supporters of Tunisia’s Saied rally amid deepening political divisions
- Rights groups have accused Saied of an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied’s supporters rallied in the capital on Wednesday calling the opposition “traitors,” following mounting street protests in recent weeks that have highlighted widening political divisions.
The rival rallies come amid a deepening economic crisis marked by high inflation, shortages of some basic goods and poor public services, which have fueled public anger.
Rights groups have accused Saied of an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition, saying he is using the judiciary and police to stifle criticism. Saied rejects the accusations, saying he is cleansing the country of traitors and a corrupt elite.
Demonstrators gathered in central Tunis waving national flags and chanting slogans backing Saied, whom they credit with confronting corruption and entrenched political elites.
They accused Saied’s opponents of seeking to destabilize the country, describing them as “traitors.” They chanted “people want Saied again” and “we support the leadership and sovereignty.”
“We are here to rescue Tunisia from traitors and colonial lackeys,” protester Saleh Ghiloufi said.
Saied’s critics say arrests of opposition leaders, civil society groups and journalists underscore an authoritarian turn by the president since he took on extraordinary powers in 2021 to rule by decree.
The powerful UGTT union has called a nationwide strike next month.
A Tunisian court last week sentenced prominent opposition figure Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison, in what critics say is another step toward entrenching Saied’s one-man rule.
While an appeals court last month handed jail terms of up to 45 years to dozens of opposition leaders, business people and lawyers on charges of conspiracy to overthrow Saied.
Saied was elected in 2019 with an overwhelming mandate, but his consolidation of power has alarmed domestic opponents and international partners, who warn Tunisia is retreating from democratic governance.
