HIBAPRESS – Fez
The Regional Brigade of the Judicial Police in the city of Fez has, since the early hours of the tragedy of the collapse of two buildings in the Al-Massira neighborhood in Bensouda, initiated a series of detailed technical and administrative investigations, concerning various documents related to the construction process, as part of the search for potential responsibilities.
According to informed sources, the investigations included examining building permits, approved engineering designs, and technical studies of reinforced concrete, in addition to work inspection reports, with the aim of verifying the extent to which the laws and standards in force in the field of construction are respected.
The security services have also expanded the scope of the investigation to include scrutiny of ownership documents and contracts that bring together the various parties involved in the project, including engineers, study offices, and contracting companies in charge of the work, while confirming the nature of their roles and legal responsibilities.
In the same context, the same sources indicated that the investigations also included reviewing the records of previous inspection committees, if any, in addition to investigating any complaints or warnings that had been addressed regarding the situation of the two buildings before the collapse occurred.
It is worth mentioning that this tragic incident left a heavy toll, represented by the death of 22 people and the injury of 16 others with varying degrees of severity, which brought back to the forefront the problem of monitoring the construction sector and the effectiveness of the adopted safety mechanisms, especially in neighborhoods with high population density.
This judicial move comes in light of the escalating calls to tighten control over the construction sector, and to link responsibility with accountability, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar tragedies that have claimed the lives of dozens in a number of Moroccan cities, while Fez remains threatened by the large number of homes liable to collapse in popular neighborhoods and the old city.
