Powerful earthquake strikes central Morocco

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco at 11:11 pm local time on Friday 8 September.

An aftershock of 4.9 struck 19 minutes later.

This quake is the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years.

The epicentre of the earthquake was the High Atlas mountains – a highly-populated area 71 kilometres southwest of Marrakech, a popular tourist destination.

According to Morocco’s interior ministry, at least 2,012 people died, mainly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicentre – Al-Haouz, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant – while 2,059 people were injured, 1,404 critically.

However, the death toll is expected to rise as rescuers struggle to reach the remote mountain villages that hit the hardest; the roads are covered in boulders. There are also fears that people could be trapped under the rubble of their houses.

The country has declared three days of national morning, during which the national flag will be flown at half mast, said the royal court.

The Moroccan armed forces have deployed rescue teams to provide affected areas with clean drinking water, food, tents and blankets.

This is an ongoing and developing situation. The information in this article is correct at time of writing.