RABAT, Morocco (AP) – Heavy rains flooded an illegal clothing factory in the northern Moroccan city of Tangier, killing at least 28 workers on Monday, an official doctor told state television.
This increased the death toll by 24, previously reported by the Moroccan news agency MAP.
Local officials said firefighters and emergency workers rescued 10 people from the factory in the basement of a residential village. Rescuers looked for other people who might have been trapped in the flash flood.
The total number of workers at the site was not immediately known. An investigation was opened.
A shaken unidentified woman who came out of the flooded basement told TanjaNews, a local website, that no one was prepared for the deadly flood.
“There was nothing to worry about. We were working normally, ”said the woman. “And because it was raining, as you can see … the water started to come in, some water, even my shoe didn’t get wet. But suddenly … ”She couldn’t finish the sentence.
To meet the growing international demand, several factories in Morocco, mainly in Casablanca and Tangier, have unregulated shadow factories to accelerate production and meet deadlines. Factories outsource these illegal units to better compete with cheaper Chinese and Turkish products.
These hidden factories are located mainly in residential areas and up to 40 people usually work in them, sometimes smaller ones.
Long hours and low wages are a hallmark of this illegal work, usually in unsafe conditions, without fire extinguishers, emergency exits and internal plumbing.