Demands to open an investigation into the death of 21 people in Beni Mellal

Agadir24

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights – Beni Mellal branch called for a serious and responsible investigation to uncover the real reasons for the sudden death of 21 people in Beni Mellal Hospital, due to what was said to be a rise in temperature.

The association expressed its surprise and concern about recording such a large number of deaths in one day, noting that the region always experiences a significant rise in temperatures and has never recorded such a large number of deaths.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights revealed that the emergency department of the aforementioned hospital was not provided with air conditioners until after this humanitarian disaster occurred, warning of the severe shortage of medicines, including medicines for respiratory, psychological and mental illnesses.

In addition, the association protested the poor services provided to patients and the overcrowding in the emergency department, which lacks all conditions for respecting human dignity, according to its expression, while it denounced the “severe shortage of human resources, poor medical equipment, lack of beds, and lack of air conditioning.”

Accordingly, the Beni Mellal branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights called for holding accountable every person who failed to fulfill his responsibilities and was proven to have been negligent, stressing the need to take the necessary measures to improve the health situation in the regional hospital and provide appropriate conditions for receiving patients.

For his part, Mohamed Al-Ghloussi, head of the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Money, said that the tragic Beni Mellal incident cannot obscure the reality and condition of the Beni Mellal regional hospital. According to what has been circulated, the hospital “lacks the necessary means and capabilities to be a public health facility.”

In a post on the social networking site “Facebook”, Al-Ghouloussi wondered how such a large number of victims died in one day, stressing that this tragedy “requires the opening of a broad and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances and conditions surrounding the incident, because otherwise it will be understood that there is disregard for people’s lives.”

On the other hand, the human rights activist denounced “how the minister and the government dealt with this tragedy in a cold manner, as if nothing had happened,” or “as if those who died were just simpletons and marginalized people in useless Morocco, especially since the incident did not cause any uproar or concern,” according to his expression.

At the political level, the parliamentary group of the Justice and Development Party addressed a written question to the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb, calling for an investigation into the causes of the high number of deaths due to high temperatures.

The group pointed out that many regions of Morocco are experiencing a record heat wave that has resulted in a large number of deaths, as has occurred in Beni Mellal and other regions to varying degrees.

In the same question, the group called on the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to reveal the urgent measures it will take to protect citizens from the high temperature in a number of cities, so that the Beni Mellal tragedy is not repeated.

It is noteworthy that the Regional Health Delegation in Beni Mellal-Khenifra confirmed in a statement issued yesterday, Thursday, July 25, that the regional hospital center in Beni Mellal received 21 deaths due to the heat, including 4 deaths outside the hospital walls and 17 deaths in hospital.

The delegation explained that the majority of deaths were recorded among people suffering from chronic diseases and the elderly, as the high temperatures contributed to the deterioration of their health, which led to their death.