Shock As River Bursts Its Banks, Floods Football Pitch And Kills 7 People During Match

According to the Agence France Presse, AFP, the victims included a 17-year-old boy and six elderly men attending the match in the village of Tizert, in Taroudant region.

Searchers had rescued one man who was injured by the flood and was looking for another missing person, officials said.

The river overflowed and submerged the pitch where an amateur football tournament was underway, a resident told AFP.
 

Eight men who took refuge in the changing rooms were swept away by the floodwaters, the witness, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

“We’re in shock. I’m 64 years old and I’ve never seen such a downpour,” the witness said.

Photographs and videos shared on social media showed muddy waters carrying away people who had clambered on top of a building flattened by the flooding.

Morocco’s national weather service had warned of the risk of stormy rains on Wednesday afternoon in several provinces.

The heavy downpour followed a dry spell, making the floods more violent, local media reported.