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Powerful 6.8-magnitude quake rocks Morocco as death toll climbs past 600

Rescue efforts underway to rescue survivors of powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake centred in the Atlas Mountains, about 50 miles from the city of Marrakesh

Last updated on 9 September 2023, 9:17am
1 min read
A woman sleeps out on the streets of Marrakech, fearful that an aftershock might bring down more of the houses within the old city
A woman sleeps out on the streets of Marrakech, fearful that an aftershock might bring down more of the houses within the old city

Rescue efforts are underway to rescue survivors of a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake centred in the Atlas Mountains, about 50 miles from the city of Marrakesh, in Morrocco.

Frantic efforts are taking shape over mountainous terrain to rescue survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck late Friday, killing at least 632 people.

Moroccan authorities said the victims had died after the quake struck in the High Atlas Mountains shortly after 11pm, and that at least 329 others had been transported to hospitals with injuries.

A group of Maltese tourists in Marrakech had contacted the Maltese foreign ministry. No injuries were reported from this group.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and a depth of about 11 miles, the United States Geological Survey said in a preliminary report.

The USGS said this was the strongest earthquake to hit the area in over 100 years. The epicentre was just over 30 miles west of Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.

Marrakesh’s old cioty is a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded in the 11th century and which attracts tourists with its open-air markets and spiderweb-like passageways. Some houses in the old city had collapsed and people there are removing debris by hand.

The deadliest and most destructive earthquake in Morocco’s recent history was 5.8 magnitude and killed about 12,000 people in 1960.

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