Casablanca – The University of Mohamed I dorm in Oujda, the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco, caught fire yesterday, killing one student and severely injuring 24 others.
The incident started at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, resulting in cases of asphyxiation, a case of psychological trauma, and several other injuries, local authorities reported without providing details about the cause of the fire.
Although the city’s Civil Protection services were able to get the situation under control at 7:30 a.m., the number of casualties was significant.
The injured students were transferred to the emergency room of the regional hospital Al Farabi in Oujda, said the local authorities, adding that four of the students were moved to Oujda’s Mohammed VI University Hospital Center due to their serious condition.
One young student, Hossam Boudhan, died from burns sustained in the campus fire.
The university’s Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences announced on Monday that Boudhan died after he was urgently transferred to a hospital in Casablanca.
Security services in the northeastern Moroccan city have launched an investigation to determine the causes of the fire.
Read also: Police Arrest 4 Suspects for Deliberately Starting Fire in Northern Morocco
Monday’s tragic incident is not the first time that fire breaks out at a Moroccan university dorm.
In October 2018, the university housing in the Daoudiate neighborhood in Marrakech caught fire as a result of a gas explosion.
The massive fire also resulted in the death of an 18-year-old student and severely injured a policeman. According to reports, the police officer suffered a serious head injury while attempting to save students.
