A mosque collapsed on Thursday in Morocco's religious capital Fez, killing at least 10 people and injuring many more, a government official said.  

An old house in the historic Medina district of Fez collapsed at noon, showering debris on an adjacent mosque and causing the mosque to partially collapse, an unidentified Interior Ministry official said.

Six people doing midday prayer in the mosque were killed on the spot and many worshipers were injured, four of whom died later in hospital, the official said, adding the cause of the collapse is under investigation.

Morocco is in its rainy season and there has been plenty of rainfall in the past two weeks in Fez.

Many buildings in Fez's historic Medina district are mud huts, which easily fall victim to rainfall, the official added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2004)