Moroccan civil protection services have retrieved the bodies of three victims, including a child, from under the ruins of the building that collapsed yesterday in Casablanca.
The three-story residential building collapsed on Friday morning, at approximately 7 a.m., with several residents inside.
Civil protection services had been searching for survivors under the debris for the entire day. At 10 p.m., they found three dead bodies, including a child and his mother.
Meanwhile, four other residents were rescued, sustaining injuries of varying degrees.
Authorities transferred the three deceased victims to the local morgue, while the injured went to the Mohammed V Hospital.
Read also: Another Building Collapses in Casablanca, Residents Still Missing
The tragic event shook the residents of the Hay Mohammadi district in northern Casablanca, especially those residing in Derb Moulay Cherif, the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
The collapsed house was among a list of buildings that local authorities determined to be at risk of collapsing.
Yesterday, while the search operation for survivors was still ongoing, President of the Hay Mohammadi district Rachid Jkini implicitly blamed the victims for not vacating the building.
In a statement to the press, Jkini did not assume responsibility for the incident, saying local authorities had warned the residents and asked them to vacate the house.
The incident happened less than one day after another building in the old Medina of Casablanca collapsed, causing one death and four injuries.
The tragic events occur as Casablanca is witnessing likely-unprecedented rainfall that caused several floods and completely revealed the vulnerability of the city’s infrastructure.
Besides damage to property, estimated to be in the millions of dirhams, the situation has now claimed four lives in two separate building collapse incidents.
Unless local authorities assume responsibility and correctly handle the crisis, the death toll could further grow in the coming days.
Read also: Casablanca Floods Unearth Shocking Lack of Accountability
