The death toll from the 6.8 earthquake in Morocco rises to more than 1,000

At least 1,037 people were killed in the earthquake that shook Morocco on Friday eveningThis is evident from a new balance sheet from the Ministry of the Interior that was released on Saturday.

The strong quake, with a magnitude of 6.8 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), also injured 1,204 people, “of which 721 are in critical condition,” the ministry said in a statement. The previous balance was 820 dead and 672 injured.

The earthquake caused the collapse of several buildings in those two provinces, in the southwest of the country.

The shock was felt as far away as the capital Rabat, hundreds of kilometers away, and in coastal cities such as Casablanca or Essaouira, even in neighboring Algeria, where authorities ruled out damage or casualties.

The USGS reported that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 18.5 kilometers, with the epicenter 71 kilometers southwest of Marrakech at 11:11 PM local time (10:11 PM GMT).

“We felt a very strong shock, I realized it was a vibration” said Abdelhak el Amrani, a 33-year-old resident of Marrakech, in a telephone interview with AFP.

“I saw the buildings moving. We don’t have the reflexes for these types of situations. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people outside. People were shocked and panicked. The children were crying, the parents were helpless,” Amrani said.

Moroccan media reported that this is the most powerful earthquake recorded in this kingdom in North Africa.

The Interior Ministry stated that authorities have “mobilized all necessary resources to intervene and assist in the affected areas.”

Hospitals in Marrakech recorded a “huge influx” of injured people and the local blood transfusion center appealed to the population to make donations.

“We panicked”

Videos recorded in Marrakech show panicked residents leaving buildings amid shaking, debris falling from buildings into narrow alleys and vehicles covered in rocks.

In one of them you can see a minaret of a mosque that collapsed in the famous Jamaa el Fna square.the heart of Marrakech, injuring two people.

A correspondent of the AFP He saw hundreds of people gathering in this emblematic square to spend the night there, fearing aftershocks. Some with blankets and others slept directly on the floor.

“We were walking through Jamaa el Fna when the earth started shakingit was really an amazing sensation,” he explained AFP at Houda Outassad Square.

“We are safe and sound, but still in shock,” added this city resident, who lost 10 relatives in Ijoukak, a rural village in Al Haouz.

Mimi Theobald, a 25-year-old English tourist, was about to eat dessert on the terrace of a restaurant with some friends “when the tables started shaking and the plates started flying. “We panicked.”

Pope Francis expressed “his deep solidarity with the victims”in a message from Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, expressed his condolences to the neighboring country for the “tragedy.”

Several countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and Israel, offered support to Morocco for rescue efforts.

France, which has a large population of Moroccan descent, expressed “solidarity” and its president, Emmanuel Macron, said he was “shocked”.

The Presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin; from Ukraine, Volodomir Zelensky; from Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and from China, Xi Jinping also expressed their condolences and solidarity. The African Union expressed its “great sadness” over the tragedy.

At the G20 summit in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said:deeply saddened by the loss of life”.

The Alawite kingdom regularly experiences earthquakes in the northern region, as it is located between the African and Eurasian plates.

In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when an earthquake struck Al Hoceima, in the northeast of the country. (JO)