ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity with Morocco and prayed for rescue efforts on Thursday as 22 people were reported dead after two buildings collapsed in the country’s Fez city. 

Morocco’s state news agency, MAP, reported on Wednesday that two adjacent four-story buildings, which housed eight families, collapsed overnight in Fez. Sixteen people were injured and taken to the hospital as authorities said the neighborhood had been evacuated, and search and rescue efforts were ongoing. 

Moroccan authorities said they had opened an investigation into the incident, while MAP reported that the structures were built in 2006 during an initiative called “City Without Slums.”

“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the swift recovery of the wounded,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. “We stand in solidarity with the Government and people of Morocco in this hour of grief, and pray for the success of the ongoing rescue efforts.”

https://x.com/CMShehbaz/status/1998940192879911417

Such building collapses are not uncommon in Moroccan cities undergoing rapid population growth. A collapse in May in Fez killed 10 people and injured seven in a building that had been slated for evacuation, according to Moroccan outlet Le360.

Building codes are often not enforced in Morocco, especially in ancient cities where aging, multifamily homes of cinderblock are common. 

Infrastructure inequality was a focus of protests that swept the country earlier this year, with demonstrators criticizing the government for investing in new stadiums instead of addressing inequality in health care, education and other public services.

With additional input from AP