The number of victims of the earthquake in Morocco increased, according to the calculation made by the Ministry of the Interior, it increased to 2,497 dead and 2,476 injured. The latest data released by this department show that the dead are in a dozen provinces, but the most affected is Al Haouz, -south of Marrakech and near the epicenter of the earthquake-, with 1,452 died, followed by Taroudant (764 dead), Chichaoua (202 dead.
A seismic alert bulletin issued by the Moroccan National Institute of Geophysics explains that the earthquake, of magnitude 7, shook the northern Moroccan region of Marrakech and occurred at 11:11 pm local time on Friday, September 8 , at a depth of 8 kilometers.
It has its epicenter in the town of Ighil, which is located about 80 kilometers southwest of the city of Marrakech.
Moroccan teams, supported by foreign reinforcements, continue their efforts to find survivors and help hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake in Morocco, a country that responded “at this time” to offers from Spain, United Kingdom. , Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to “send search and rescue teams.”
Spain reported that it had sent 86 lifeguards accompanied by tracking dogs to Morocco. In addition, a humanitarian flight from Qatar took off on Sunday from the outskirts of Doha, an AFP reporter said.
The Moroccan ministry said that “if the needs develop,” they may accept other offers of aid.
Several countries such as France, the United States and Israel made themselves available in the North African kingdom after the earthquake in Morocco, “a sovereign country responsible for organizing rescue operations,” said the Minister of French foreigner, Catherine Colonna, who announced an aid of 5 million euros (5.36 million dollars) to NGOs that are now “on the ground” in Morocco.
While waiting for the dispatch of new foreign teams, the Moroccan authorities began to build tents in the High Atlas area, where the entire town was devastated by the shock.
Apocalyptic scene
Rescuers, volunteers and soldiers are working to find survivors and remove lifeless bodies from the rubble, mainly in the towns of Al Haouz province, the epicenter of the earthquake south of the city. to the tourist in Marrakech.
Due to the scale of the devastation, solidarity emerged in Marrakech, where many residents lined up at hospitals to donate blood.
“We are collecting food products to help the areas affected by the earthquake,” Ibrahim Nachit, a member of the Draw Smile organization, told AFP, which also plans to send a “medical caravan” to the most needy. places.
“I believe that the food supplies collected today (Sunday) should be able to sustain at least 100 families for a week,” said Abdeltif Razouki, vice president of the association.
It was the deadliest earthquake to hit Morocco since the one in Agadir on February 29, 1960. Almost 15,000 people died there, a third of the population of this west coast city.
