At least nine people were killed and others ​injured when a four-storey building collapsed ‌overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, the city's prosecutor said on Thursday.

Residents of adjacent buildings in the densely populated neighbourhood were asked to evacuate as a precaution against further collapses, while a search for survivors was still underway.

By midday, six people had ​been rescued from the rubble of the building, which was built in the 1980s, Al Oula state ​television reported.

"The collapse created a wave ​of fear," a neighbour told the channel.

Fez, a former ‌capital ⁠dating back to the eighth century and the country's third-most-populous city, has seen similar incidents in recent months, including one in ​December when two buildings ​collapsed, ⁠killing at least 22 people.

In 2010, the collapse of a minaret ​in the historic northern city of ​Meknes ⁠killed 41 people.

Adib Ben Ibrahim, housing secretary of state, said last year that approximately 38,800 buildings across the country had been classified as at risk of collapse.