At least 296 people have died and 153 have been injured in Morocco after an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale shook several cities in the country on Friday night, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior and reported by the Moroccan News Agency (MAP). ).

The Ministry of the Interior has added that the victims have been transferred to hospital centers to receive assistance from first aid necessary. The National Institute of Geophysics had previously confirmed in an alert bulletin that the earthquake had occurred in Ighlil, in Al Haouz province.

The tremor was felt around 11:11 p.m. (local time) from the city of Marrakech to the capital, Rabat. The epicenter would be between Marrakech and Agadir, where serious material damage has occurred, including the collapse of houses and walls. However, at the moment there is no exact assessment of the extent of the damage.

Speaking to Hespress, the division head of the Moroccan National Institute of Geophysics explained that “hundreds of aftershocks have occurred, but most of them have not been felt.” For its part, the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) has reported on its website a second earthquake of a smaller magnitude, 4.8 on the Richter scale, in the city ​​of Berrechid.

Emergencies 112 Andalucía has reported on the social network Huelva, Seville, Malaga and Jaén“. In the same publication they added that there is no evidence of damage and that they are waiting for the IGN to confirm the information.