Morocco earthquake: Death toll rises to 1,000 after powerful earthquake hits near Marrakesh

The death toll rose from an earthquake that struck near Marrakech in Morocco on Friday night, in one of the strongest tremors the country has ever seen.

At least 1,037 people died and more than 1,200 were injured. A local official earlier said most of the dead were in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

The earthquake’s epicenter was in the High Atlas mountains, according to the country’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network.

In 1960, an earthquake in the country led to the death of thousands of people.

Montasir Itri, a resident of the village of Asni near the epicenter of the earthquake, said that most of the houses there were destroyed.

“Our neighbors are under the rubble and people are working hard to save them using available means in the village,” he told Reuters.

Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he fled his home and felt aftershocks.

“The ground shook for about 20 seconds. The doors opened and closed by themselves as I rushed down from the second floor,” he said.

Algeria, which cut ties with Morocco two years ago, said on Saturday it would open its airspace for humanitarian and medical flights to Morocco, after a major earthquake there killed more than 800 people. man.

Algeria cut diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021, citing what it said were “hostile acts”. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said earlier this year that relations between the North African neighbors had reached “a point of no return”.

In a statement on the earthquake in Morocco, the Algerian presidency said it is ready to provide humanitarian aid and offer all its material and human capabilities in solidarity with the Moroccan brothers, if Morocco requests such help

The death toll from the earthquake near Marrakesh has reached 1,037, with more than 1,200 injured, the Moroccan armed forces said.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the country’s armed forces to mobilize air and ground assets, specialized search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital to help in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake. The Associated Press reported the request, citing a statement from the military

In the village of Amizmiz, about 40 miles south of Marrakech, Resident Mohamed Azaw told Reuters:

“When I felt the ground shaking under my feet and the house leaning, I rushed to get my children. But my neighbors can’t. 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 son.”

The earthquake in Morocco that killed more than 800 was the strongest to hit the North African country in more than a century.

It struck just after 11pm on Friday and affected the entire region, with tremors felt thousands of miles away in Portugal and Algeria.

The epicenter of the earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey, is in the middle of the country and is located in the High Atlas Mountains in the Ighil area, about 70km south of the historic city of Marrakech.

The epicenter was located 18km below Earth, according to the USGS.

Morocco’s own National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network, however, estimated that the epicenter was 11 km below the surface.

Experts say the shallower depth of the earthquake’s origin makes it more dangerous.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK is ready to support Morocco after it was hit by a deadly earthquake.

On social media, the Prime Minister said: “My thoughts are with everyone affected by the terrible earthquake in Morocco last night.

“The UK stands ready to support our Moroccan friends.”