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CASABLANCA: Nearly 300 people were killed after a powerful earthquake rattled Morocco on Friday (Sep 8) night, according to a preliminary government count, with Marrakesh residents reporting “unbearable” screams followed the 6.8-magnitude quake.
“According to a provisional report, the earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” Morocco’s interior ministry said in a statement, adding that another 153 people were injured.
The ministry also urged calm and said the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakesh, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.
Residents of Marrakesh, the nearest big city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.
Pan-Arab al-Arabiya news channel reported that five people were killed from one family, citing unnamed local sources.
Frenchman Michael Bizet, 43, who owns three traditional riad houses in Marrakesh’s old town, told AFP that he had been in bed at the time of the quake.
“I thought my bed was going to fly away. I went out into the street half-naked and immediately went to see my riads. It was total chaos, a real catastrophe, madness,” he said.
Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicentre, said 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.
Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his home and there had been aftershocks following the initial quake.
“The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor,” he said.
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