Rescuers are having difficulty getting to isolated rural communities that were most severely affected.
According to state-run media, as of Monday, the Moroccan earthquake had claimed at least 2,681 lives and injured 2,501 others. Three days have been set aside for national mourning by King Mohammed VI.
As rescue workers combed through the debris in the highlands south of Marrakech on Monday morning, the 2M TV channel in Casablanca updated its fatality toll.
The 26km-deep 6.8-magnitude earthquake occurred on Friday night beneath the Atlas Mountains. The Al-Haouz province was where about 1,500 of the fatalities occurred. According to the surviving locals who communicated with rescuers and the media, some communities were “completely destroyed.” 15 people were murdered out of the 200 residents of Azgour, a community close to the epicentre.
The military has been sent to Morocco to assist civilian rescue teams, but mountain passages and roads have been destroyed or obstructed by debris. Roads have been cleared using large equipment, and helicopters are working to reach the most remote towns.
On Monday morning, a relief convoy of the Moroccan army arrived in Asni, the community closest to the epicentre, and began establishing a field hospital to care for the injured. Colonel Youssef Qamouss told CNN that the hospital had 30 beds spread across 16 tents, with a staff of 24 physicians and 48 nurses. He noted that cuts, fractures, and burns are the most frequent injuries.
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Agadir in 1960 claimed at least 12,000 lives, making Friday’s quake the deadliest to hit Morocco since that time.
