http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8525527.stm
last updated at 22:01 GMT, Friday, 19 February 2010
Morocco TV reports 32 dead in minaret collapse
Unconfirmed reports from Morocco say 32 people were killed when a minaret
collapsed at a mosque in the central Moroccan town of Meknes.
More than 60 people were injured in the accident at the Berdieyinne
mosque in Meknes' old city during Friday prayers, according to Moroccan state
television.
The TV report said that the collapse came after heavy rains which lashed
the region for several days.
The minaret is said to have been four centuries old.
A doctor at the scene told Reuters news agency he had counted 13 bodies
as they were being pulled out by rescuers.
Many people are said to be buried under the rubble of the collapsed
tower.
A local resident, Khaled Rahmouni, told Reuters that about 300
worshippers had gathered inside the mosque for Friday afternoon prayers.
"When the imam was about to start his sermon, the minaret fell down," he
said.
Moroccan television added that the interior and religious affairs
ministers had visited the site to supervise rescue operations.
The officials visited the injured, who had been taken to hospitals in
Meknes and the nearby city of Fez.
Observers say that while neglected buildings in the old quarters of
Morocco's cities collapse fairly often, the fall of a minaret is rare
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