At least 22 people were killed late on Tuesday after two buildings collapsed in Fez, one of Morocco’s oldest cities and a key tourist destination, with the state broadcaster saying the blocks had shown signs of cracking.

Local authorities in Fez prefecture reported two adjacent four-storey buildings had collapsed overnight, state news agency MAP said.

The buildings were inhabited by eight families and were in the Al-Mustaqbal neighborhood, a densely populated area in the west of the city, it reported.

BUILDINGS LACKED MAINTENANCE, STATE TV SAYS

State-owned broadcaster SNRT reported eyewitnesses at the scene as saying the buildings had shown signs of cracking for some time, without any effective preventive measures being taken.

Reuters was unable to independently verify SNRT's damage report and the Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SNRT showed rescue workers and residents digging through the rubble to look for survivors overnight.

"My son who lives upstairs told me the building is coming down. When we went out, we saw the building collapsing," an old woman wrapped in a blanket told SNRT, without giving her name.

Another survivor, who lost his wife and three children in the collapse, told local Medi1 TV early on Wednesday that the rescuers were able to retrieve one body, but he was still waiting for the others.

Fez, a former capital dating back to the eighth century and the country's third-most-populous city, was caught up in a wave of protests two months ago against the government over deteriorating living conditions and poor public services.

Adib Ben Ibrahim, housing secretary of state, said in January that approximately 38,800 buildings across the country have been classified as being at risk of collapse.

Wednesday's collapse is one of the worst in Morocco since the fall of a minaret in the historic northern city of Meknes, which killed 41 people in 2010.

YOUTH ANGRY AT LACK OF SERVICES, POVERTY

Most of Morocco's population, financial and industrial hubs and vital infrastructure are concentrated in the northwest, with the rest of the country reliant on farming, fisheries and tourism.

In October, youth-led unrest revealed deep-seated anger over poverty and public services as the government pushes on with ambitious infrastructure projects and the opening of modern stadiums ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Fez, one of the cities to host the World Cup and this month's African Cup of Nations football tournament, is one of the country's poorest urban centres with aging infrastructure.

The protests in major cities – inspired by similar revolts in Nepal, Madagascar and Peru – devolved into riots in rural towns and remote cities. Three people were shot dead as they tried to storm a security headquarters, and over 400 were arrested, before the violence eased.

Trust in political parties dropped to 33% in 2023 from 50% a year earlier, according to a survey by the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis, a think tank.