Morocco Earthquake Death Toll Exceeds 2,800

LAHORE MIRROR (REUTERS) – In the aftermath of Morocco’s most powerful earthquake in over a century, which left parts of the country devastated, villagers continued to camp outdoors for a fourth consecutive night on Monday. The death toll has now surpassed 2,800 people.

Assisting Moroccan search and rescue operations, teams from Spain, Britain, and Qatar have joined forces to locate survivors in the wake of the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck the High Atlas Mountains late on Friday, causing extensive damage to the traditional mud brick houses that are common in the region.

State TV reported late on Monday that the death toll had risen to 2,862, with 2,562 people injured. With much of the quake zone in hard-to-reach areas, authorities have not issued any estimates for the number of missing.

In the village of Tinmel, almost every house was pulverised and the entire community has been left homeless. The stench of death from dozens of animals buried under the rubble wafts through parts of the village.

Mouhamad Elhasan, 59, said he had been eating dinner with his family when the earthquake struck. His 31-year-old son fled outside and was hit as their neighbour’s roof collapsed, trapping him under the rubble.

Elhasan said he searched for his son as he cried for help. But eventually, the cries stopped, and by the time he reached his son, he was dead. Elhasan and his wife and daughter remained inside their home and survived.

“If he had stayed inside the house he would have been ok,” Elhasan said.

In Tinmel and in other villages residents said they had pulled people out of the rubble with their bare hands.

In Tikekhte, where few buildings have been left standing, 66-year-old Mohamed Ouchen described how residents rescued 25 people – one of whom was his sister.

“We were busy rescuing. Because we didn’t have tools, we used our hands,” he said. “Her head was visible and we kept digging by hand.”

Footage from the remote village of Imi N’Tala, filmed by Spanish rescuer Antonio Nogales of the aid group Bomberos Unidos Sin Fronteras (United Firefighters Without Borders), showed men and dogs clambering over steep slopes covered in rubble.

“The level of destruction is … absolute,” said Nogales on Monday, struggling to find the right word to describe what he was seeing. “Not a single house has stayed upright.”

Despite the scale of the damage, he said rescuers searching with dogs still hoped to find survivors.
The epicentre of the quake was about 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, where some historical buildings in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged.

The quake also did major damage to the historically significant 12th-century Tinmel Mosque.
More modern parts of Marrakech largely escaped unscathed, including a site near the airport earmarked for IMF and World Bank meetings, due to be held next month.
Over 10,000 people are expected at the meetings, which the Moroccan government wants to proceed, sources said.