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Join on Telegram Rabat – Two people were killed and two others were injured when a four-storey building collapsed in the Derb Ramad area of the old medina of Casablanca on Wednesday morning.
The injured were rushed to the regional hospital center, Centre Hospitalier Régional Moulay Youssef, for treatment.
Local authorities of the Casablanca‑Anfa prefecture stated that the building was on the official list of structures at risk of collapse. The four-storey house had been subject to an evacuation order since 2012, but while most residents heeded the order, some refused to leave, authorities added.
Rescue teams, including civil protection and police, secured the site immediately after being alerted. A judicial investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor’s office.
The building’s collapse shows the dangers faced by residents of aging housing in the old medina, where buildings often suffer from structural neglect, weather-related damage, and delayed or incomplete evacuation.
In March 2025, a roof collapsed in the old medina of Casablanca, leaving a mother and daughter seriously injured.
In July 2024, four houses collapsed simultaneously in the Derb Sultan neighbourhood in Casablanca. There were fortunately no casualties, but the incident sparked panic among residents.
A 2021 report indicated that in Casablanca’s old medina, more than 2,800 buildings housing around 72,000 households were classified as “threatening ruin.”
Another estimate cited around 16,000 buildings in Casablanca-Anfa and Al Fida-Mers Sultan prefectures as being at risk of collapse or requiring urgent intervention.
The aging housing stock, narrow streets, and dense built environment of old medinas make evacuation and rescue operations difficult when collapses occur.
Even when buildings are officially listed as at risk, compliance by owners or tenants can be inconsistent, as some refuse evacuation orders, which increases danger.
