Powerful earthquake kills ‘at least’ 296 in Morocco, govt says

Powerful earthquake kills ‘at least’ 296 in Morocco, govt says

A powerful earthquake struck Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday, killing at least 296 people, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes.

The Interior Ministry said the number constituted a preliminary death toll and that 153 people had been injured. A local official said most deaths were in mountain areas that were hard to reach.

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest big city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a Unesco World Heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.

Pan-Arab al-Arabiya news channel reported that five people were killed from one family, citing unnamed local sources.

Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicentre, said most houses there were damaged.

“Our neighbours are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village,” he said.

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.

Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles).

People gather on a street in Casablanca, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco on Saturday (Sep 9). — Reuters

Ighil, a mountainous area with small farming villages, is about 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Marrakech. The quake struck just after 11pm. (2200 GMT).

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