Heat Wave Claims 4 Lives in Morocco as Swimmers Drown Near Béni Mellal

The tragedies occurred respectively in the Oum Er-Rbia river in the province of Fkih Ben Salah and in a canal near the town of Kasba Tadla in the Beni Mellal region, reports the daily Al Massae.

The initial investigation into the first case indicates that it was a 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old young man who drowned in the Oum Er-Rbia river.

The two friends had decided, along with another boy, to go swimming in the river to escape the heat wave affecting the region. Upon arrival, the young girl first plunged in, but she was unable to come back up. Her friend, who could not swim, had a hysterical crisis. Despite the help of the villagers, only the girl was saved.

The same source reports that the second case occurred the same day, this time in the Ouled Saïd commune near the town of Kasba Tadla. According to police sources, a 19-year-old man and a 10-year-old child drowned in the canal called Zaidania.

The two victims, from Khemisset, had come to spend their vacation with their relatives in this region. For the same reasons, they decided to go cool off in a canal near their home, accompanied by a third person.

Unfortunately, the young man and the child were swept away by the water. Only the third person was saved in extremis by the residents who then called the firefighters.