RABAT: Morocco authorities said Monday they had found the body of a person missing after a flood hit a football pitch, bringing to eight the number of people killed in last week's tragedy.
The flood took place when a nearby river burst its banks in the southern region of Taroudant on Wednesday.
A 17-year-old boy and six elderly men were killed and have since been buried, while rescuers continued the search for an eight victim who was swept away by the flood, authorities said.
The last body was found some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the village of Tizret near where an amateur football tournament had been taking place.
Photographs and videos shared on social media showed muddy waters carrying away people who had clambered on top of a building flattened by the flood.
Authorities have opened an investigation and the government has promised to take several measures to avoid such tragedies in the future.
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.
Floods are common in Morocco. In late July, 15 people died in a landslide caused by flash floods on a road south of Marrakesh.
In 2014, floods killed around 50 people and caused considerable damage in the south of the country.
Between 2000 and 2013, a series of 13 major floods killed a total of 263 people in Morocco and caused considerable damage to infrastructure worth $427 million, according to the World Bank.
A study published in 2015 pointed to multiple failures in infrastructure maintenance, prevention, warning and emergency management.
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