Morocco mourns victims as toll crosses 2,100
A total of 2,122 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,421 others were injured — 1,404 of them critically, the Interior Ministry reported.
People console each other while digging graves for quake victims near Marrakech.
MOROCCO: An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and sought to rescue survivors while soldiers and aid workers raced to reach ruined mountain villages. The disaster killed more than 2,100 people — a number that is expected to rise.
The United Nations estimated that 3,00,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake and some Moroccans complained on social networks that the government wasn’t allowing more outside help. International aid crews were poised to deploy, but some grew frustrated waiting for the government to officially request assistance.
“We know there is a great urgency to save people and dig under the remains of buildings,” said Arnaud Fraisse, founder of Rescuers Without Borders, who had a team stuck in Paris waiting for the green light. “There are people dying under the rubble, and we cannot do anything to save them.”
Help was slow to arrive in Amizmiz, where a whole chunk of the town of orange and red sandstone brick homes carved into a mountainside appeared to be missing. A mosque’s minaret had collapsed. “It’s a catastrophe,’’ said villager Salah Ancheu, 28. “We don’t know what the future is. The aid remains insufficient.”
Residents swept rubble off the main unpaved road into town and people cheered when trucks full of soldiers arrived. But they pleaded for more help. “There aren’t ambulances, there aren’t police, at least for right now,” Ancheu said. Those left homeless — or fearing more aftershocks — slept outside Saturday, in the streets of the ancient city of Marrakech or under makeshift canopies in hard-hit Atlas Mountain towns like Moulay Brahim. The worst destruction was in rural communities that are hard to reach because the roads that snake up the mountainous terrain were covered by fallen rocks.
Those areas were shaken anew Sunday by a magnitude 3.9 aftershock, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It wasn’t immediately clear if it caused more damage or casualties, but it was likely strong enough to rattle nerves in areas where damage has left buildings unstable and residents feared aftershocks. Friday’s earthquake toppled buildings not strong enough to withstand such a mighty temblor, trapping people in the rubble and sending others fleeing in terror.
A total of 2,122 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,421 others were injured — 1,404 of them critically, the Interior Ministry reported.
No report of any Indian national getting affected in Morocco quake: Embassy
There is no report till now of any Indian national getting affected due to the earthquake in Morocco that has killed over 2,000 people, the Embassy of India here has said, advising all its citizens in the country to stay calm and adhere to guidelines issued by the local authorities.
The powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook Morocco late on Friday.
The Interior Ministry of Morocco said late Saturday that 2,012 people were killed in the temblor.
At least 2,059 people were injured, including 1,404 critically.
The Embassy of India in Rabat issued an advisory on Saturday in the aftermath of the quake and said it was in touch with the community members.
“Till now, there is no report of any Indian national getting affected due to the earthquake,” the mission said.
It urged all Indian nationals currently in Morocco to stay calm and adhere to the advisory/guidelines issued by the local authorities from time to time.
