At least 296 dead and 153 injured after powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake hits central Morocco

At the very least 296 people died A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.9 occurred MoroccoIts center is close to the tourist town MarrakeshHome Ministry said.

“According to temporary equilibrium, The earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al Houze, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Sichowa and Taroudant.“The ministry said in a statement.

Also, others 153 people were injured.

According to the earthquake warning bulletin issued by Moroccan National Institute of GeophysicsA telluric movement took place 23.11 local time and had its epicenter in the city IgilIt is located 63 kilometers south-west of the city Marrakesh, in depth 8 kilometers.

The injured, of varying degrees of severity, were transferred to hospital centers, the ministry said, citing material damage in uninhabited areas.

According to the Interior Ministry, which called on citizens to remain calm, security and civil defense forces of all affected provinces were mobilized, as well as the necessary mechanisms to intervene and assess the damage.

In reports HesvpressThe Moroccan company’s head of division explained “Hundreds of aftershocks have occurred, but most of them are not felt”.

Moroccan media say it is the most powerful earthquake ever to hit North Africa.

Videos posted on social media show debris flying down narrow alleys and items falling from shelves.

A family was trapped in the rubble after their house collapsed in a town in Al Houth province, media reports said.

Information website, citing medical evidence Media24 He said there was a “massive influx” of injured people into Marrakesh hospitals.

According to witnesses, the tremors were felt in northern cities like Larachchi, which is 550 kilometers from the epicenter. White House And RabatAt 300 and 370 kilometers respectively, its people took to the streets to prevent a second quake.

PAGER system United States Geological Survey The USGS, which provides preliminary estimates of the impact of earthquakes, has issued an orange alert for economic losses, estimating that significant damage is likely.

“People in this region live in structures that are highly vulnerable to seismic shaking,” the USGS said.

Sofia Catala, a Spanish resident Marrakesh, explained that “the ground started to move when the bomb dropped” during the earthquake. “I thought the building was falling down, and now everyone’s out on the street in their pajamas,” he said.

Catala said that a few minutes after the earthquake, all the residents of his building panicked and went to the street, and many objects fell from the balcony, but he did not see. No buildings around it with major damage.

A resident of Casablanca confirmed feeling the quake. “It was not very strong, but it lasted for 15 seconds without stopping. I immediately called my family in Marrakech, it was strong there, even my sister-in-law fainted from the shock,” he explained on the phone.

Morocco Due to its position between the north and south, earthquakes occur frequently African and Eurasian plates.

In 2004, at least 628 died and 926 were injured The earthquake hit Al Hoceima in the northeast of the country.

In 1980, there was an earthquake in El Aznam T Size 7.3 In neighboring Algeria, it was one of the most destructive earthquakes in modern history. It killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless.

(With information from EFE and AFP)