Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in decades has killed at least 820 people, officials said Saturday, causing widespread damage and sending terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night.
The 6.8-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of tourist hotspot Marrakesh at 11:11 pm (2211 GMT) Friday, the US Geological Survey reported.
Strong tremors were also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.
“We felt a very violent tremor, and I realised it was an earthquake,” Abdelhak El Amrani, 33, told AFP by telephone from Marrakesh.
A man walks with his belongings through the rubble in an alleyway in the earthquake-damaged old city in Marrakesh on September 9, 2023. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
“I could see buildings moving,” said Amrani who went outside, joining many other people, “all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught.”
Culled from Channels TV
