The number of victims of Friday’s earthquake in Morocco increased to 2,122 on Sunday; 2,421 people were injured, Moroccan television reported. The rescue operation is complicated by the fact that the most affected villages are in the difficult-to-reach High Atlas Mountains.
Survivors of the 6.8-magnitude quake – the strongest so far in Morocco – are struggling to find food and water in villages in the High Atlas Mountains. Many of them spent the second night without a roof over their heads.
Moroccan media reported the partial collapse of the 12th-century Tinmal Mosque and part of Marrakech’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the village of Moulay Brahim, 40km south of Marrakech, near the quake’s epicenter, residents told Reuters that they had dug up bodies from the rubble with their bare hands. According to them, the Moroccan government helps them only to a small extent. Houses in this area were often made of dried bricks and wood, so they fell apart easily due to tectonic shocks. Entire villages were left in ruins.
There are queues of people willing to donate blood for the injured in front of hospitals in Marrakech, the AFP agency reported.
Morocco declared three days of mourning, and King Mohammed VI appealed for prayers for the dead in mosques across the country.
The epicenter of the quake was 72 km southwest of Marrakech. (PAP)
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