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A woman passes by a collapsed building in the Moroccan town of Imzouren after an earthquake struck the country’s northeastern part early Tuesday. A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 has struck Morocco, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
- At least 296 were killed and 153 were injured, according to a preliminary report from Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
- The quake hit just after 11 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT).
- The earthquake’s epicentre was at a depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles) and occurred about 72km (44 miles) northeast of Marrakesh, according to the USGS.
- Footage on social media reporting of the earthquake showed tremors being felt and people running into the streets and buildings shaking.
German chancellor offers condolences after ‘devastating’ Morocco quake
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has offered his condolences to relatives of the victims of the “devastating” in Morocco.
“At this difficult time, our thoughts are with the victims of this devastating earthquake. Our sympathy goes out to all those affected by this natural disaster,” Scholz, who is attending the G20 summit in India this weekend, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Many buildings collapsed in the old city of Marrakesh’
Mohamed, a resident of Marrakesh, said that he was in his apartment on the third floor of his building when the earthquake happened.
“It suddenly and violently started shaking. I escaped and was safe … Only books or pieces of art fell from the shelves,” he said.
He said: “Many old buildings were collapsed in the old city of Marrakesh. The suburbs of Marrakesh were hugely affected by the earthquake. Most of the casualties are recorded in the surrounding rural communes and outskirts.”
The full extent of the destruction is yet to be seen
Al Jazeera’s Abdel Mounim El Armani has said that the full extent of the causalities and destruction of the earthquake is yet to be seen.
He said that the statement made by the Interior Ministry is preliminary, covering the causality numbers before 2 a.m. (01:00 GMT) local time.
“The earthquake has hit six provinces on the Atlas mountains in the centre of Morocco, close to the city of Marrakesh,” he said.
He also said that eight to 10 million live in the area affected by the earthquake, mostly living in rural areas and earning money from ecological tourism.
Residents talk about the moment the earthquake struck Morocco
Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicentre, has said most houses are damaged around the area where he lives.
“Our neighbours are under the rubble, and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village,” he told the Reuters news agency.
Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his home and there had been aftershocks following the initial quake.
“The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor,” he said.
Al Jazeera
