<\/p>\n
The death toll from Morocco\u2019s deadliest earthquake in decades has risen to 1,037, it was reported on Saturday, causing widespread damage and sending terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
The state television further quoted the interior ministry as saying that more than 1,200 people were injured in the quake in Morocco\u2019s High Atlas mountains late on Friday night.<\/p>\n
The 6.8-magnitude quake struck the mountainous area 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of tourist hotspot Marrakesh at 11:11pm (10:11pm GMT) on Friday, the US Geological Survey reported.<\/p>\n
Strong tremors were also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt a very violent tremor, and I realised it was an earthquake,\u201d Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old in Marrakesh, told AFP<\/em> by telephone.<\/p>\n \u201cI could see buildings moving. We don\u2019t necessarily have the reflexes for this type of situation. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there.<\/p>\n People were all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught.\u201c \u201cThe power went out for 10 minutes, and so did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on,\u201d he added. \u201cEveryone decided to stay outside.\u201d<\/p>\n Faisal Baddour, an engineer, said he felt the earthquake three times in his building.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople went out into the street just after this total panic, and there are families who are still sleeping outside because we were so scared of the force of this earthquake,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was as if a train was passing close to our houses.\u201d<\/p>\n Frenchman Michael Bizet, 43, who owns three traditional riad houses in Marrakesh\u2019s old town, told AFP<\/em> that he had been in bed at the time of the quake.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought my bed was going to fly away. I went out into the street half-naked and immediately went to see my riads. It was total chaos, a real catastrophe, madness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The 43-year-old shared video of piles of rubble from collapsed walls in the streets.<\/p>\n Footage on social media also showed part of a minaret collapsed on Jemaa el-Fna square in the historic city.<\/p>\n An AFP<\/em> correspondent saw hundreds of people flocking to the square to spend the night for fear of aftershocks, some with blankets while others slept on the ground.<\/p>\n Houda Outassaf, a local resident, told AFP<\/em> he was walking around the square when the ground began to shake.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a truly staggering sensation. We\u2019re safe and sound, but I\u2019m still in shock,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have at least 10 members of my family who died\u2026 I can hardly believe it, as I was with them no more than two days ago.\u201d Fayssal Badour, another Marrakesh resident, told AFP<\/em> he was driving when the earthquake hit.<\/p>\n \u201cI stopped and realised what a disaster it was\u2026 The screaming and crying was unbearable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The interior ministry said authorities have \u201cmobilised all the necessary resources to intervene and help the affected areas\u201d.<\/p>\n The regional blood transfusion centre in Marrakesh has called on residents to donate blood for those injured.<\/p>\n In the town of Al-Haouz, near the epicentre of the quake, a family was trapped in the rubble after their house collapsed, local media reported.<\/p>\n \u201cWe heard screams at the time of the tremor,\u201d a resident of Essaouira, 200km west of Marrakesh, told AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u2018Unbearable\u2019 screams<\/h2>\n
Significant damage likely<\/h2>\n