2,497 dead in the Moroccan earthquake, and a race against time to find survivors

 Moroccan rescuers continue racing against time, with the support of foreign teams, rescue operations in the areas struck by the earthquake, as they race against time to find survivors and provide assistance to the homeless whose homes were destroyed more than 48 hours after the devastating earthquake that left 2,497 dead and 2,476 injured, while the authorities announced the response. Qatar, the UAE, Britain, and Spain made four offers of assistance to confront the repercussions of the earthquake.

The Moroccan government confirmed that all capabilities and equipment had been mobilized to reach all those affected, while large reinforcements from the Moroccan army arrived in the Amizmiz region on the outskirts of the city of Marrakesh to support rescue efforts.

While awaiting the deployment of foreign rescue teams on the ground, the Moroccan authorities began erecting tents in the High Atlas, where entire villages were destroyed by the earthquake.

Paramedics, volunteers, and members of the armed forces are working to find survivors and retrieve bodies from under the rubble, especially in the villages of Al Haouz province, the epicenter of the earthquake, south of the tourist city of Marrakesh in the center of the kingdom.

Ministry of the Interior stated in a statement that “the Moroccan authorities responded at this particular stage to the offers of support made by the friendly countries Spain, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, which proposed mobilizing a group of search and rescue teams,” while Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Wehbe stated that between 60 and 70 countries offered support.

The earthquake - which struck the High Atlas region late Friday evening and had a magnitude of 6.8 degrees, according to the US Geological Survey - caused widespread destruction in towns and villages in the areas of Al Haouz, Chichaoua and Taroudant, and left damage in Marrakesh. Scenes of rubble and cracks appeared in houses and streets where rescue teams were searching. of possible survivors.

Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Observatory said that yesterday, Sunday, it recorded an earthquake measuring 4.5 degrees on the Richter scale, 77 km southwest of Marrakesh.