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At least 11 people died and about 50 were injured when the minaret of a mosque collapsed during weekly Friday prayers in Morocco's central town of Meknes.
"Eleven people were killed when the minaret of the Berdieyinne mosque in Meknes' Old City collapsed," it said, adding the incident occurred at 1245 GMT during weekly prayers.
The Meknes fire service however told AFP that at least 14 people had died.
The lightly injured were hospitalised in Meknes while those with serious injuries were taken to Fes, 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of the town.
Residents told AFP that heavy rains had lashed the region in the past days.
The interior and religious affairs ministers were at the site to supervise rescue operations. King Mohammed VI has meanwhile ordered the reconstruction of the minaret "keeping to its original form."
