Morocco earthquake: At least 632 killed, houses damaged; PM Modi ‘extremely pained’. Top updates
Morocco Earthquake Updates: Morocco’s Interior Ministry said another 329 people were injured. Casualty figures were expected to rise.
At least 632 people were killed after a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Morocco on Friday night, the interior ministry said. Residents posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in historic Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged.
The number of injured stood at 329, Morocco state media reported on Saturday, citing an updated initial casualty toll from the interior ministry.
Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in Rabat as throbbing club music played.
Top updates on Morocco earthquake:
1. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11pm, with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The US agency reported a magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
2. The earthquake damaged buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into streets and alleyways from the capital Rabat to Marrakech, the county's most visited tourist destination.
3. The epicentre of Friday's tremor was high in the Atlas Mountains roughly 70 kilometers south of Marrakech. It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort. The USGS said the epicentre was 18 kilometres below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 8 kilometres down.
4. The quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.
5. Offering condolences, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is extremely pained by the loss of lives due to an earthquake in Morocco. “In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the people of Morocco. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. India is ready to offer all possible assistance to Morocco in this difficult time,” Modi wrote on X (formally Twitter).
6. Variations in early measurements are common, although either reading would be Morocco's strongest in years. Though earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near Agadir and caused thousands of deaths in 1960.
7. Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicentre, told news agency Reuters that 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.
8. Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his home and felt aftershocks. "The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor," he said.
9. 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.
10. Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.
(With inputs from agencies)