More than 2000 people have been killed in a massive earthquake that rattled Morocco, media reports said on Saturday.
Another 329 individuals were injured, with 51 in critical condition, in the 6.8-magnitude quake that struck 72 kilometres southwest of Marrakesh.
State TV, citing figures from the Interior Ministry, reported the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira were also jolted. At least 632 people have lost their lives so far.
“I have at least 10 members of my family who died… I can hardly believe it, as I was with them no more than two days ago.” Fayssal Badour, another Marrakesh resident, told AFP he was driving when the earthquake hit.
The interior ministry was quoted as saying all the necessary resources had been mobilised to help the affected areas. The blood transfusion centre in Marrakesh urged residents to donate blood for the injured.
An inhabitant of Essaouira, 200 kilometres west of Marrakesh, told AFP: “We heard screams at the time of the tremor.”
Meanwhile, the presidents of Russia, France and Turkey, Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Indian Premier Narendra Modi and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez offered their condolences to relatives of the victims.
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was in the remote High Atlas Mountains, 44 miles southwest of Marrakesh, at a depth of 18.5km.
Morocco’s interior ministry had earlier put the death toll at 296 in al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.
The overnight quake damaged buildings and left streets strewn with rubble. Scared residents were seen walking through dust.
The government-run television screened scary scenes from the quake aftermath. Many stayed in streets, fearing aftershocks.
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