At least 2,122 people have died and 2,421 have been injured as a result of the earthquake that struck on the night of Friday to Saturday the High Atlas region, near Marrakech, according to the latest official balance sheet. The Ministry of the Interior has published the latest update on victims at 4 p.m. local time, while rescue, evacuation and care efforts for victims continue.
“All the necessary resources have been mobilized to respond to the consequences of this painful tragedy,” Interior highlighted, according to the Moroccan news portal. Hespress.
Key hours for rescues
Rescuers this Sunday accelerated the search for possible survivors trapped under the rubble of the devastated towns. “Public authorities are still mobilized to accelerate rescue operations and evacuation of the injured,” reported the Ministry of the Interior.
The Al Haouz province, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the hardest hit and recorded 1,293 deaths, followed by Taroudant with 452 fatalities.. In these two areas located southwest of the tourist city of Marrakech, the earthquake destroyed entire villages.
On Sunday, many residents went to hospitals in this city to donate blood for the victims.
“I lost everything,” lamented Lahcen, a man who lost his wife and four children in the rural town of Moulay Brahim, in the High Atlas mountain area. “The only thing I want is to get away from the world and grieve,” said the father of the family who was saved from dying because he was outside his house at the time of the earthquake.
The town of Tafeghaghte, a few kilometers to the west, was practically destroyed by the earthquake, whose epicenter was located just fifty kilometers away, according to an AFP team.
“Three of my grandchildren (ages 12, 8 and 4) and their mother died. “They are all under the ruins,” said Omar Benhanna, 72, devastated.
On Saturday, many of the survivors went to the cemetery for the burial of about 70 people, in devastating ceremonies marked by screams and tears.
The kingdom decreed three days of national mourning on Saturday and leaders from around the world, from Spain and France to Israel and the United States, sent condolences to Rabat.
Even Algeria, a neighboring country at odds with Moroccoopened its airspace that has been closed for two years for planes that transport humanitarian aid and evacuate the wounded.
The World Bank stated that it will provide “its full support” to the country.
International aid
The Moroccan Government accepted the help of four countries, for rescue tasks of those possibly trapped in the rubble after the earthquake last Friday that caused the death of more than 2,000 people in southern regions of the country.
A Moroccan diplomatic source explained to EFE that Morocco accepted the participation of rescue teams from Spain, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and stressed that the Maghreb country does not currently need other types of aid.
Spain participates with a contingent of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) of 65 members to help in search and rescue tasks and a Spanish team traveled to Morocco to make itself available to the authorities.
With information from Europa Press, EFE and AFP
Source-www.infobae.com