Doctor drives 1,800 miles from UK to help earthquake rescue operation in Morocco
A doctor has driven an ambulance 1,800 miles from London to Morocco to provide assistance after thousands were killed in an earthquake in the north African country.
A British charity has also launched an "urgent relief fund" to help families of the 2,100 fatal victims and the 2,400 injured after a mega 6.8-magnitude quake struck just 45 miles southwest of Marrakech just before midnight on Friday. The heroic Brit left just two hours after the tremors hit, razing entire neighbourhoods to the ground and damaging historic buildings. He made the massive journey in an ambulance laden with specialist medical equipment, and when he reached Marrakech, another four good samaritans joined him.
The UN says this is the most devastating quake the country has ever experienced, with around 300,000 people affected. Many have been left homeless or traumatised, fearing more aftershocks so much they have been forced to sleep on the street for the past three nights.
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He told the cameraman in French how he left London two hours after the quake struck (Atlaslion/Twitter)
300,000 people are thought to have been affected by the tremors (Atlaslion/Twitter)A British charity is also launching an urgent fundraiser to provide aid to the hundreds of thousands of victims. Oxford University PHD student Ella Williams - who works for the British Moroccan Society - will be flying from the UK to help those affected on the ground.
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Ella, who usually lives and works around the villages at the epicentre of the earthquake, said: "The damage to the rural areas has been catastrophic. Many families are still trapped under the rubble. Some villages have no survivors. I have lost students, friends and neighbours and I am still waiting on news of many missing loved ones."
Medical emergency teams treat the injured at the field hospital (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Money raised for the relief fund will provide immediate help to those most in need. This includes individuals who have not received help yet, providing adequate water to drink, food to eat, powdered baby milk, blankets and shelter, reports the MailOnline. The quake was the strongest to hit the nation’s centre in more than a century and many people are feared to still be trapped under the rubble deep in the Atlas Mountains.
People comfort each other while digging graves for victims of the earthquake (AP)Tremors were felt as far away as Portugal and Spain as holidaymakers in the North African country recall waking up to trembling rooms and screams. At least 2,012 people died in the 7.2 magnitude quake, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday night. At least 2,059 more people were injured — 1,404 critically — the ministry said. Plus many people, including Brits, are still unaccounted for.
A Moroccan-based British journalist told the Mirror yesterday that he was woken by his wife's piercing scream and in minutes many of their walls had pancaked to the ground. He likened the chaos to a warzone. "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", said Martin Jay.
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