40 killed in Morocco minaret collapse

The collapse of a minaret in a historic mosque has killed at least 40 people, injuring 71 others, in the central Moroccan city of Meknes, a local official said Saturday.

Among those injured in Friday’s collapse of the minaret of the Bab Berdieyinne mosque in the old town quarter of Meknes, 51 people have already left hospital after receiving treatment, civil protection official Mohamed Ismael Alaoui told AFP.The 18-century mosque was packed with worshippers during Friday prayers at the time of the collapse, and local officials have warned the toll could continue to mount.

Many locals blamed the tragedy on heavy rains that lashed the region in the previous days.“The minaret and part of the roof fell on the congregation, which had gathered for the weekly prayer,” a resident said.Television pictures showed hundreds of locals scrambling to clear the debris in a desperate search for survivors.Rescuers worked with shovels and some with their bare hands while others formed human chains to carry away rubble from the site of the disaster.

“Apart from the Friday prayers, the faithful were also offering funeral prayers for a deceased person whose body was inside the mosque,” a local official said.

-AFP