Over 1,000 dead as 6.8 quake jolts Morocco, rescue operations on

Amizmiz, September 9

A powerful earthquake in Morocco killed more than 1,000 people and injured hundreds, the country’s deadliest in more than six decades, toppling houses in remote mountain villages where rescuers dug through rubble for survivors. The country has declared three days of national mourning.

The quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, damaging historic buildings in Marrakech, the nearest city to the epicentre, while the most badly affected areas were in the mountains nearby.

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 some 72 km southwest of Marrakech.

In the village of Amizmiz near the epicentre, rescue workers picked through rubble with their bare hands. Tremors were felt as far away as Huelva and Jaen in Andalusia in southern Spain, Spanish television RTVE reported.

Street camera footage in Marrakech showed the moment the earth began to shake, as men suddenly looked around and jumped up, and others ran for shelter into an alleyway and then fled as dust and debris tumbled around them.

In Marrakech, where 13 people were confirmed dead, residents spent the night in the open, afraid to go home. In the heart of its old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, a mosque minaret had fallen in Jemaa al-Fna Square. Injured people filtered into Marrakech from the surrounding areas seeking treatment. 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. At a depth of 18.5 km, experts said this was an unusually large tremor for the area.

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 last year, said it would open airspace for humanitarian and medical flights. Governments around the world expressed solidarity and offered assistance. — Reuters

Ready to offer all possible assistance, says India

• PM Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives in Morocco and said India was ready to offer all possible assistance to it in this difficult time.
• 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 last year, said it would open airspace for humanitarian, medical flights.