Rescuers dug through rubble for survivors in collapsed houses in remote mountain villages of Morocco yesterday in the wake of the country's deadliest earthquake for more than six decades, which killed more than 1,000 people.
The quake, which struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, damaged historic buildings in Marrakesh — the nearest city to the epicentre — while most of the fatalities were reported in mountainous areas to the south.
The interior ministry said 1,037 people had been killed and another 672 injured by the quake, gauged by the US Geological Survey at a magnitude of 6.8 with an epicentre 72km southwest of Marrakesh.
In the village of Amizmiz near the epicentre rescue workers picked through rubble with their bare hands. Fallen masonry filled narrow streets. Outside a hospital, about 10 bodies lay covered in blankets as grieving relatives stood nearby.
“When I felt the earth shaking beneath my feet and the house leaning, I rushed to get my kids out. But my neighbours couldn’t,” said Mohamed Azaw. “Unfortunately, no-one was found alive in that family. The father and son were found dead and they are still looking for the mother and the daughter.”
The quake affected a sweep of the High Atlas mountain range. Tremors were felt as far away as Huelva and Jaen in Andalusia in southern Spain.
Montasir Itri, a resident of the village of Asni near the epicentre, said most houses there were damaged.
“Our neighbours are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village,” he said.
In Marrakesh, where rubble had tumbled into the streets, residents described desperate scenes as people fled for safety.
Moroccan state television broadcast images of troops being deployed.
The quake was recorded at a depth of 18.5km, typically more destructive than deeper quakes of the same magnitude. It was Morocco's deadliest earthquake since 1960 when a quake was estimated to have killed at least 12,000 people, according to the US Geological Survey.
Turkey, where powerful earthquakes in February killed more than 50,000 people, said it was ready to provide support.
Algeria, which broke off ties with Morocco in 2021 over the political status of Western Sahara, said it would open airspace for humanitarian and medical flights.
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