'One minute we were having drinks with friends - then the earthquake hit'

09 September 2023 , 20:26

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Jamie Lamplough, his wife Vicci and their two children were caught up in the horror

British tourists told tonight how they fled for their lives as tremors rocked their hotels.

Essex DJ Dean Kayne, 52, was going to bed with wife Lorraine, 51, when the five-star Kenzi Club Agdal Medina began shaking.

Dean, from Basildon, is a host on Time 107.5FM. He said: “I jumped up thinking what the hell is going on. Within 10 seconds the whole room was shaking. We knew we had to get outside as quickly as possible. Everybody gathered in the courtyards. There were children crying and people shouting.

“We stayed outside for a couple of hours and then decided to go back to our room. All the walls were cracked and there was plaster everywhere.

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Dean Kayne and wife Lorraine, of Essex, described scenes as 'very scary and surreal'

“Our stomachs are still a bit twisted. We keep thinking how we’ve just had a near death experience and feel very lucky. It’s been very scary and surreal. To hear that more than 800 people have died is just awful.”

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Dad Jamie Lamplough, his wife Vicci, 31, and their children Leila, 12, and Nolan, 11, had been enjoying their first holiday abroad when the quake rocked the Aqua Mirage Hotel in Marrakech.

Rita Barker and her husband Paul, pictured, took refugee after the quake happened

Dad Jamie, due to fly home tomorrow, said: "Our children are so scared and just want to go home. They don’t want to go inside any buildings, so I think we will be sleeping outside for the next two nights. Last night we slept on the grass all night, along with the rest of the guests. The whole room was shaking and glasses were falling off the counters.

“We all ran into the gardens. After an hour we went back to the room to get blankets. All the resort staff have come into work as normal today, but they must have family involved."

Terrified Samantha Owen-Stoddart, 40, told how she and her husband ran for safety. Samantha, who is from Newcastle and runs a tour company in Marrakech, had been enjoying a birthday meal for her husband at a hotel restaurant in the city’s old town. She said: “Suddenly the ground started to shake and plaster started to come off the ceiling. Everybody just started running and we ran with them. It was terrifying. It’s hard to describe the fear and panic we felt."

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Samantha said a friend took them back to their apartment in his taxi. She added: “We passed through a small village and everybody was outside. They were all petrified of an aftershock.”

She said a friend took them back to their apartment in his taxi - but the road was obstructed by fallen power lines. She said: “He had to stop his taxi and get out to pick them up off the road. We passed through a small village on the way back and everybody was outside. They were all petrified of an aftershock.”

The couple were booked on a flight back to the UK on Sunday morning and were lucky that it wasn’t cancelled. Sam said: “On the way to the airport we could see all the devastation - some of the buildings were in ruins.

“It still hasn’t really registered what has happened. It’s definitely the worst experience of my life. We are happy to be home, but we feel so much for everybody still out there because it’s just awful.”

The powerful earthquake shook Morocco, and sent terrified residents fleeing their homes (AFP via Getty Images)

Rita Barker, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, posted pictures on Facebook of hotel guests taking shelter by the pool at the Kenzi Club resort. She said: “One minute we were having a few drinks with friends and then all of a sudden a massive earthquake hit. People were running and crying, then we had to sleep outside under towels. It’s awful reading the news and seeing the destruction it’s caused.”

John Siddle