More than 2,000 people have died in Morocco after a powerful and rare earthquake sparking a desperate rescue mission amid horrific scenes.
The quake's epicentre was near Oukaïmedene in the High Atlas mountains, striking at 11pm local time, and Moroccan officials say the 7.2 magnitude has now killed 1,037 people but the final figure could rise much further.
Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is a popular destination for Brits, is one of the cities that has also been badly hit. A frantic rescue effort is taking place in the mountainous terrain, where many lifeless bodies are said to be in hard-to-reach areas.
"People were all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught," Abdelhak El Amrani told the AFP news agency. Another man in the historic city described feeling a "violent tremor" and seeing "buildings moving". Tremors were reportedly felt in the capital Rabat, over 200 miles away, as well as Casablanca and Essaouira.
Moroccan TV showed anxious families standing in the streets or huddled on the pavement, some carrying children, blankets or other belongings. Baskets, buckets and clothing could be seen amid scattered stones in the remains of one building. While clips on social media show damaged buildings and rubble-strewn streets.
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The location is within the African tectonic plate, around 350 miles south of the boundary with the Eurasia plate that Europe and much of Asia sit on. Despite its location, quakes of this strength are very rare and it was the strongest quake to hit the area in more than 100 years, according to the United States Geological Survey.
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The next 48 hours will be "critical" for saving the lives of victims of the Moroccan earthquake, said a global aid chief.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in the devastating earthquake so far and there are fears that the number will rise as efforts are made to get humanitarian aid to those in need.
Caroline Holt, global director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said: “The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in terms of saving lives. Search and rescue efforts will be prioritised in parallel, of course, with making sure that those that we know have survived are taken care of.
“We know what to expect. There’s the need for the dignified management of dead bodies. There’s the need to provide people with safe water. We need to make sure we don’t have a disaster within a disaster. Hygiene really needs to be maintained.”
A statement from the IFRC said: "Some of the worst affected areas are quite remote and mountainous, therefore hard to reach. However, the IFRC is working hard to support the national Moroccan Red Crescent Society to assess the situation and is ready to deploy its emergency response teams within 24-48 hours based on the needs."
(AFP via Getty Images)The former lord mayor of Westminster has urged the public to give the people of Morocco "hope" by helping how they can to provide donations and aid.
Councillor Hamza Taouzzale, who is of Moroccan descent and returned from his visit to the country on Thursday, said seeing the effects of the deadly earthquake unfold is "close to home". The 23-year-old said: "It's close to home. That's where my family is from and that's where we're originally from, and I was just there. It's been quite sad, quite devastating and quite scary for a lot of people."
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Mr Taouzzale said people in the UK can be a "source of hope" now. "I think it's just important to remember how sudden and impactful these events are and how quickly someone's life can turn around and change," he said.
"I think just bearing that in mind and appreciating what we have here and being thankful for that, but also doing all we can to help out people who are in need and give them that constant source of hope. That's what people rely on and that's what people need from us, especially when we're in a privileged position here - we should be able to help out, we should be able to give back and make a difference."
(Khadija Benabbou/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)More than 1,300 people have now died, mostly in Marrakesh and five provinces near the quake's epicentre, Morocco's Interior Ministry has reported.
Rescue workers continue to search through the rubble for survivors with at least 1,305 officially dead and another 1,832 people injured - 1,220 critically.
In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco's King Mohammed VI ordered the armed forces to specialised search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital, according to a statement from the military. The King said he would visit the hardest hit area Saturday, but despite an outpouring of offers of help from around the world, the Moroccan government had not formally asked for assistance, a step required before outside rescue crews could deploy.
A humanitarian aid appeal has been launched by the British Red Cross to help victims of the earthquake.
It states: "Following the earthquake in Morocco, we have launched an emergency appeal. Whilst the situation is still developing there are immediate and severe needs for those affected. Please donate today if you can.”
People have been encouraged to donate online, but can also give by phone or post. You can find all the details here. Morocco's Interior Ministry said on Saturday the death toll had reached 1,037, with 1,204 injured, 721 of them critically.
"People have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods, and sadly the full scale of the destruction is only likely to become apparent in the coming days," Richard Blewitt, the Red Cross' executive director, said.
Morocco has declared three days of national mourning following the earthquake that has claimed more than a thousand lives.
Flags are to be flown at half-mast across the country during the period of mourning period, reportedly said a royal court statement.
"Three days of national mourning have been decided, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings," said a statement published by the official MAP news agency after King Mohamed VI chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster.
The country's armed forces are sending rescue teams to provide affected areas with clean drinking water, food supplies, tents and blankets, it also stated.
(AFP via Getty Images)Morocco's qualifying game in the African Cup of Nations has been postponed in the wake of the earthquake.
Morocco had been scheduled to play Liberia in Agadir on the country's western coast, but its soccer federation said the game had been postponed indefinitely after an agreement with the Confederation of African Football. Agadir is roughly 105 miles southwest of the epicenter of Friday's tremor near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province.
The Gambian national team was in Marrakech during the earthquake ahead of a decisive qualifying game against Congo on Sunday. Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet told the BBC that he initially thought an airplane had crashed into the team's hotel.
"It seems it was only 30 seconds but it felt endless. It was really scary," Saintfiet said. "The walls were really shaking and things were falling down from the ceiling and the walls. I never in my life saw a building moving like that. When it stopped, I started running and checking if my team members were also out of their rooms."
Marrakech and Agadir airports are open and flights to and from the UK are operating normally, the Foreign Office said in an update.
It stated that Brits looking to alter their travel plans need to get in touch with tour operators or airline companies. People have also been warned to expect delays in getting in touch with loved ones due to telephone network outages in Morocco.
The upadate reads: "On Friday 8 September 2023 an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck Morocco near Marrakesh. You should follow the advice of local authorities, and follow local media. #
"Marrakech and Agadir airports are open and flights to and from the UK are operating normally. Travellers wishing to change their flight plans should liaise direct with their tour operators or airline companies. If you are trying to get in touch with a family member or a friend, be aware that telephone networks are subject to outages."
Algeria has has offered to open its airspace to allow humanitarian aid or medical evacuation flights to travel to and from Morocco.
The neighbouring country closed the airspace when its government severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 over a series of issues. The countries have a decades-long dispute involving the territory of Western Sahara.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's office said in a statement that Algeria is ready to offer humanitarian aid "in solidarity with the brotherly Moroccan people, in case the authorities of the Moroccan kingdom express a wish for this".
The statement also offered to reopen the airspace, and condolences for the dead and `'deepest compassion" for the injured. Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, says it is prepared to respond to the earthquake in Morocco that killed more than 1,000 people and left many more injured.
(Safae Sirajeddine/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Two British couple have told of "walls shaking" and "people running" as they described the terrifying moment it struck their Marrakesh hotel.
Lorraine McColvin, 53, and her husband Gerry, 54, are holidaying at the Be Live resort, located just 6.8 kilometres from Marrakesh city centre. Neurology nurse Lorraine said: "People started running away from the building towards an empty space. It took a bit of time to realise what was happening then everyone started running. You could see the shock in their faces."
The couple from Drumoyne in Glasgow are currently away with their friends Adam, 48, an Cheryl McMillan, 44. They were enjoying a chat and some music outside when the tremors struck their hotel, reports the Daily Record. Lorraine continued: "There was almost like a rippling effect on the ground."
Husband Gerry - a fetal medicine manager at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow added: "We could see the walls shaking and that's when people ran to find an empty space. I am amazed no windows were broken. The water in the pool was rippling so everyone knew something was very wrong."
Meanwhile Cheryl said: "It seemed to go on for ages then it stopped and started again. It must have been awful for the people caught up in it in Marrakesh." Staff at the hotel rushed guests outside and supplied them with water while they searched the building and checked the hotel rooms.
Buildings not made to withstand earthquakes mean that thousands are likely to die including from aftershocks, said an expert.
Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, said: "The problem is that where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapse resulting in high casualties.
"I would expect the final death toll to climb into the thousands once more is known. As with any big quake, aftershocks are likely, which will lead to further casualties and hinder search and rescue."
In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco's King Mohammed VI ordered the armed forces to mobilise air and land assets, specialised search-and-rescue teams and a surgical field hospital, according to a statement from the military.
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The death official death toll for the earthquake has risen to 1,037 along with 1,204 injured, confirmed the Moroccan Interior Ministry.
Rescue workers continue to look through the rubble for survivors and bodies with the casualty toll expected to rise further.
State television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakesh, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.
The magnitude 6.8 quake late on Friday was the hardest to hit Morocco in 120 years and it toppled buildings and walls in ancient cities made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.
The Moroccan Interior Ministry has said of those injured, 721 were in a critical condition as hospitals were likely overwhelmed.
Ayoub Toudite said he had been working out with friends at the gym when "we felt a huge shake like it was doomsday." In 10 seconds, he said, everything was gone. He continued: "We found casualties and people running and kids crying. We never saw anything like this, 20 deaths in the area, 30 injuries."
Rescuers were using hammers and axes to free a man trapped under a two-story building. People capable of squeezing into the tiny space were giving him water.
"We are all terrified that this happens again", Toudite said.
A woman inspects the damage following a 6.8-magnitude quake (AFP via Getty Images)The World Health Organisation [WHO] has said the earthquake has affected 300,000 people in the major city of Marrakech and its surrounding areas.
The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shared "sincere condolences and support to the people of Morrocco" and noted the 300,000 figure.
Morrocco-based British journalist Martin Jay said he's lucky to be alive after he was woken up by his wife screaming. He told the Mirror he grabbed his wife's hand and "literally pulled her across the bed" before running into the hallway to see a three-metre wall pancaked on the floor.
Martin lives in Amizmiz, a small town at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains just around 50 miles from the quake's epicentre. He said army helicopters have been slowly circling over the tops of the mountains all morning, scouring the tiny villages for assistance. The owner and editor of Maghrebi.org said he built his bedroom out of wood, which "saved his life" because concrete breezeblocks would have collapsed and either "crushed us or split our heads open."
He continued: "I've been in six or seven war zones as a journalist and so the only thing I can liken it to — the noise, the confusion and the sheer terror of being in a situation where you feel so vulnerable — is a war zone. It scared the living daylight out of my wife. I mean, she really was shrieking."
(Martin Jay)British Airways has changed the type of plane used on its route to Marrakesh, in case a large number of stranded UK tourists need to get home in an emergency.
The airline told the BBC: "We are continuing to monitor the situation closely, and customers due to travel to or from Marrakesh in the next two weeks can change their dates free of charge if they wish."
BA's normal flight schedule is currently unaffected by the earthquake.
Experts say the number of dead people in the aftermath of the earthquake will sadly keep climbing.
Joanna Faure Walker, professor of earthquake geology at University College London, said to Sky News: "When an earthquake occurs at night (it hit at just gone 11 pm), people can be particularly vulnerable. Getting out of their homes and navigating rubble and debris in the dark adds to the risk of injury and getting trapped.
"The early death toll figures are likely to increase significantly as early information is limited, and rescue efforts are ongoing."
US President Joe Biden has sent his condolences to the people of Morocco and said they stand ready to provide assistance.
"I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Morocco," he said.
He continued: "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by this terrible hardship. My administration is in contact with Moroccan officials. We are working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe and stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people. The US stands by Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI at this difficult moment."
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said the UK is supporting British nationals after a deadly earthquake hit Morocco.
He said: "Devastating news of a substantial earthquake just outside Marrakesh, Morocco. The UK is continuing to support British nationals in the region. We stand ready to help our Moroccan friends in whatever way we can."
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Hamid Afkir, a teacher who lives close to the epicentre, near Taroudant, said: "The earth shook for about twenty seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor of my house. There were aftershocks too."
And Mohammed Hassan, a Marrakesh resident, said: "Houses collapsed, and people were trying to remove rubble by hand, so as to try and rescue people. It took a while for the emergency services to arrive with digging equipment. People were very scared."
Huge cracks were seen appearing on the mediaeval city wall in Marrakesh, while some parts fell off.
A British journalist living in Morocco said he was woken up by the sound of his wife screaming as an earthquake shook his home.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Martin Jay said: "The first hint was my wife screaming", he said.
He continued: "We both had nodded off to sleep – but not into deep sleep – just into that light slumber I suppose… and she started screaming, and I just sort of opened my eyes and couldn’t quite join the dots up. I couldn’t quite equate the situation, I couldn’t imagine I was in the middle of an earthquake. Everything was vibrating, everything, the bed, the floor, the four walls."
Serious earthquakes in Morocco are "uncommon but not unexpected", according to the U.S. Geological Survey [USGS].
A magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the city of Agadir in Morocco in 1960, leading to 12,000 deaths and prompting changes in construction rules. This is thought to be the worst in history.
In, 2004 a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the Mediterranean city of Al Hoceima caused over 600 deaths and left about 15,000 homeless. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in March 1969 killed about a dozen people.
The U.S.G.S. said there had been no earthquakes of 6 magnitude or larger there since 1900.
A shakemap shows the location of the earthquake (USGS HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The European Union's Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič tweeted that its emergency response coordination centre is closely monitoring the situation in Morocco.
He wrote: "Central Morocco has been hit by a devastating earthquake taking a heavy toll on human life. We stand ready to provide any assistance necessary if requested."
A British tourist on holiday in Marrakesh has described the terrifying moment of what happened when the quake hit.
"The room just started shaking," Lorella Palmer told BBC News. She felt like "there was someone hoovering the walls in the room next to ours." She continued: "I think your brain doesn't register straight away what is happening until the picture frames and the bed start shaking."
The Marrakesh Regional Blood Transfusion Centre has called for blood donations for the victims of the deadly earthquake.
The institution appealed to all people in the city of Marrakesh to come to the centre to donate blood, starting from Saturday morning.
In the popular tourist city of Marrakech, houses in the tightly packed old city have collapsed. People have been working by hand to remove debris while they waited for heavy equipment, one resident said.
Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street. One resident said he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and many building facades damaged. Although it is unknown if there are any injured people in the city.
One video appears to show the minaret of Marrakech's famous Kutubiyya Mosque, with large amounts of dust pouring off - sparking fears it could collapse.
