https://arab.news/wundm
- Fouzia Taoufiq, 38, and her son were killed instantly by a cascade of bricks falling from the top of a building they were walking by
- Taoufiq’s eldest son watched in horror as his family was killed
ROME: A mother from Morocco and two of her children were crushed to death when a building collapsed on them as they strolled through the center of Albizzate, a city in northern Italy.
Fouzia Taoufiq, 38, and her son Soulaymane Hannach, 5, were killed instantly by a cascade of bricks falling from the top of a building they were walking by.
Taoufiq’s 15-month-old daughter Yaoucut was severely wounded when rescuers pulled her from her mangled stroller, but she died in hospital.
Taoufiq had been living since 2009 in Italy, where her children were born. Witnesses, including Albizzate Mayor Mirko Zorzo, who said he avoided being crushed by just 20 cm, described how Taoufiq’s eldest son watched in horror as his family was killed.
Zorzo said the eldest son “was on the other side of the street on his bicycle. He was in tears, he asked about his mother. I took him to the supermarket until his dad, who was at work, arrived. This is absurd, a true tragedy.” It was the eldest son who told his father Noureddine Hannach what had happened.
“How can I tell my son that his mother no longer exists, how can I do it?” said Noureddine. “All this is unbelievable. I can’t understand how such a slaughter could happen in the center of a city.” The eldest son is now with a family of friends.
Mohamed Saih, president of the Islamic Center of Varese, said: “I rushed there immediately with many other members of the Moroccan community … to show our support to this poor father.” The city of Varese hosts one of the biggest Moroccan communities in Italy.
Varese Prosecutor Nadia Alessandra Calcaterra has ordered an investigation. “Experts will determine responsibilities of this terrible event,” she said.