At least 22 people were killed and 16 others injured overnight when two adjacent buildings collapsed in Fez, one of Morocco’s oldest cities, the prosecutor said on Wednesday.

One building was unoccupied, while the second was hosting an Aqiqah, a traditional Muslim celebration marking the birth of a child, the Fez prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor said the death toll was preliminary and that an investigation has been opened.

A survivor, who lost his wife and three children, told local Media that rescuers had been able to retrieve one body, but he was still waiting for the others.

State-owned broadcaster SNRT News footage showed rescue workers and residents digging through the rubble.

Besides the judicial probe, a technical and administrative investigation has also been launched to determine what caused the four-storey buildings to collapse, local authorities said in a statement.