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Key Points
- A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco late on Friday in the High Atlas mountain region.
- At least 632 people have been killed according to state media.
- Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city.
A powerful earthquake struck Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday, killing at least 632 people, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes, state television reported.
The number of injured stood at 329, state media reported on Saturday, citing an updated initial casualty toll from the Interior Ministry.
A local official earlier said most deaths were in mountain areas that were hard to reach.
Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck at 11.11pm on Friday 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 18.5km.
Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major 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.
Tremors from the quake were also reportedly felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.
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.
“The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor,” said Hamid Afkir, a teacher in a mountainous area west of the epicentre near Taroudant, adding there had been aftershocks.
Ighil, a mountainous area with small farming villages, is about 70km southwest of Marrakech.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent condolences to those who had lost loved ones.
“In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the people of Morocco,” he wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pan-Arab Al Arabiya news channel reported that five people from one family were killed, citing unnamed local sources.
The earthquake is Morocco’s deadliest since a 2004 tremor near Al Hoceima in the northern Rif mountains killed over 600 people.
The United Nations stood ready to help the Moroccan government in “its efforts to assist the impacted population”, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
Marrakech damage from the Moroccan earthquake
In Marrakech, some houses in the tightly packed old city had collapsed and people were working hard by hand to remove debris while they waited for heavy equipment, said resident Id Waaziz Hassan.
Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.
Another Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, said he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and many building facades damaged. He said people were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake.
People in Rabat, about 350km north of Ighil, and in the coastal town of Imsouane, about 180km to its west, also fled their homes, fearing a stronger quake, according to Reuters witnesses.
Some videos shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, appeared to show at least one building collapsing and rubble in the streets.
Others showed people running out of a shopping centre, restaurants and apartment buildings and congregating outside.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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