Srinagar: Rescuers were digging through rubble in remote mountainous areas of Morocco on Saturday in a desperate bid to find survivors after more than 2,000 people were killed in the deadliest earthquake to strike the country in decades.
Morocco will observe three days of mourning following the quake, the Royal Palace said. Flags will be flown at half-staff on all public buildings.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook Morocco’s High Atlas mountain range shortly after 11 p.m. local time on Friday (6 p.m. ET) at the relatively shallow depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.4 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The epicenter was located about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a city of some 840,000 people and a popular tourist destination.
At least 2,012 people were killed and 1,404 others in a critical condition, Morocco’s state TV Al Aoula said, citing the interior ministry.
Emergency services were deployed to quake-stricken regions, as King Mohammed VI of Morocco ordered that a relief commission be set up to distribute aid to survivors.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of destruction in the Atlas Mountains foothills following the earthquake, amid a rapidly increasing death toll revealing the human cost.
Earthquake In Morocco, Deadliest Since 1960
It is worth noting, that the recent quake has been regarded as the worst in Morcco since 1960 quake. At that time, the earthquake destroyed Agadir and wiped of one-third of the city population by killing more than 15,000 people.
