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 r

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