At least seven people were killed when a river burst its banks on Wednesday following torrential rains in mountains in southern Morocco, local authorities said. Search operations are ongoing to find survivors near Taroudant, 600 kilometers south of Rabat, said the authorities in a statement. The victims included a 17-year-old boy and six elderly men attending a football match in the village of Tizert. Most of the victims were swept away by a sudden flash flood while watching the game on a pitch built next to a dry river, a local resident told Reuters, confirming videos shared on social media showing the scene. Photographs and videos showed muddy waters carrying away people who had clambered on top of a building flattened by the flooding. Eight men who took refuge in the changing rooms were swept away by the floodwaters, another witness told Agence France Presse. The southern Moroccan mountains, known as the Anti-Atlas, are arid and rarely receive rain in the summer. Moroccos 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.