The earthquake struck late Friday evening, with the epicentre 75 kilometres west of Marrekesh, a major economic centre.
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has hit Morocco, killing at least 296 people, injuring more than 150, damaging buildings and sending local people fleeing into the streets for safety.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said early on Saturday that the reported number of dead and injured was a preliminary figure.
“According to a provisional report, the earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that 153 people were injured and hospitalised.
The earthquake hit shortly after 11pm local time (22:00 GMT) on Friday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS estimates that the epicentre of the quake occurred near the ski resort of Oukaimeden in the Atlas Mountains, some 75km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, the fourth largest city in the country.
Reports of damage emerged from Marrakesh’s old town, known as the Medina, a historic web of red walls and tight streets recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO. But the extent of the devastation is not immediately known.
Videos and images shared on social media, meanwhile, showed clouds of dust and piles of rubble as walls buckled under the force of the quake. Other posts depicted shocked residents running for safety out of local buildings and onto the streets.
Source : Aljazeera
