Moroccan police arrest four over building collapse
RABAT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Moroccan police investigating a building collapse that killed 18 people have arrested the site manager, a developer and two others on suspicion of manslaughter, state news agency MAP reported on Thursday.
"The enquiry under way has established the existence of technical errors in the project's execution," MAP said, citing unnamed sources.
The four, including an architect and a worker responsible for the building's steel reinforcements, are also suspected of using flimsy materials and breaking building rules.
Five other people, including a cement company official and the head of a laboratory, are under suspicion but not under arrest, MAP said.
The half-built apartment block collapsed in the city of Khenitra on Jan. 16, trapping builders having lunch in the basement.
The building was part of a low-cost housing and commercial project managed by real estate firm El Manal on the outskirts of the fast-growing city which lies 40 km (25 miles) north of the capital Rabat.
Around 50 workers had been on site at the time, most from rural provinces who had left their homes in search of work. Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa visited the scene and vowed to identify and punish those responsible. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer, editing by Ralph Boulton)
