Morocco Confirms 2497 People Killed In Friday Night Earthquake

Morocco officials have confirmed that over 2,497 people lost their lives following the earthquake that erupted in some parts of the country regions on Friday night.

The 2,497 deaths were recorded in 9 affected areas as rescuers on Monday morning rushed to highly affected areas surrounded by mountains and pieces of rocks blocking the road leading to devastated villages.

According to local media, Morocco World News, officials of Morocco government announced that the earthquake death toll reached 2,497 as of 10 O’clock on Monday morning.

Al Haouz province recorded the highest numbers of deaths so far caused by the devastating earthquake. The breakdown of the deaths toll indicated that rescuers found 1452 dead bodies in Al Haouz region, 764 in Taroudant, 202 in Chichaoua, 41 in Ouarzazate, 18 in Marrakech, 11 in Azilal, 5 in Agadir, 3 in Casablanca and 1 in Youssoufia.

It was gathered that Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity has launched a massive relief effort aimed at providing much-needed assistance to the victims. The initiative comes as a result of the reported high royal instructions of King Mohammed VI, underlining the Foundation’s commitment to aiding those affected by the natural disaster.

Meanwhile, the government officials put the number of injured victims to have climbed to 2,476 people after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night.

Rescue teams on Monday, according to Aljazeera TV, are struggling to reach remote villages in the High Atlas Mountains, south of Marrakesh, believed to be one of the most-affected areas just as desperate search continued for residents trapped beneath rubble as buildings and communities have been completely flattened.

Also, local media reported that Morocco has released information regarding the bank account the country is using to collect contributions and donations for people affected by the Friday devastating earthquake.

The Morocca World News Media report reads in quote: “Those in Morocco seeking to send relief contributions to the bank can do so on account number 126 at the following RIB: 001-810-0078000201106203-18. People outside Morocco seeking to contribute through financial donations can do so via IBAN: MA64001810007800020110620318”.

Earlier, as the death toll from the Friday earthquake continued to rise, more attention are turned to remote villages in the Al Houz region, area with the highest recorded number of deaths so far as some of residents still await rescue two days from the onset of the earthquake. “No one arrived here to help, people from different villages are grouping to dig,” a local in a small village in the Al Houaz region reportedly told Morocco World News (MWN). “Two buildings have collapsed on a family of five, people here are still digging and they haven’t found them yet,” the local said.

Since the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck several regions of Morocco before midnight on Friday, it is observed that slot of donors flooded blood donation centers across the country. Najia Amrani, the director of the National Center for Blood Donation and Investigation in Morocco, announced that a remarkable 6,000 bags of blood were collected in a single day, appreciating the efforts of a large-scale campaigns initiated by regional blood donation centers and civil society associations, according to MWN media report.

The media added that: “The power of solidarity united 6,000 people today from Morocco and around the world at the Regional Blood Transfusion Center of Marrakech, following the devastating earthquake. People from different nationalities, including Moroccans and foreign residents showed up demonstrating that compassion transcends borders and backgrounds. American teacher in Morocco Sally Kenney was also present to donate. ‘We are all expats and we love living here. We just wanted to help out, that’s the least we can do’, she told Morocco World News. Additionally, Kawkab football club of Marrakech and several associations also stood in line to help out those in need.