Shock and disbelief blanket Morocco as rescuers scour rubble caused by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people.
Survivors told harrowing tales. The Associated Press reports Ayoub Toudite said he was at the gym in Moulay Brahim with friends when they felt a huge shake "like it was doomsday." Moulay Brahim is along a mountainside in Morocco.
“We found casualties and people running and kids crying,” he said. “We never saw anything like this, 20 deaths in the area, 30 injuries."
Total casualty estimates increased several times Saturday. As of Saturday evening, at least 2,012 people died and another 2,059 people were injured, Morocco's Interior Ministry reported.
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The government also announced three days of national mourning. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers struggled to reach hard-hit remote areas.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was roughly 43.5 miles south of Marrakech.
“I can’t reconstruct my home. I don’t know what I’ll do. Still, I’m alive, so I’ll wait,” said Hamid Idsalah, 72, as he walked through drought-stricken Ouargane Valley. “I feel heartsick.”
In Moulay Brahim, an impoverished mountain community, a tent was erected for shelter. Clay and brick homes were uninhabitable after the quake.
More than a dozen of blanket-covered bodies were carried down to a health center where doctors treated injured people. Hundreds of men gathered and knelt on rugs and held funeral traditions before burying bodies.
Fathers sobbed into phones telling loved ones about losing their children.
“There’s nothing to do but pray,” said Hamza Lamghani, who lost five of his closest friends.
It’s the biggest quake to hit the country in 120 years. The tragedy hit some buildings made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.
President Joe Biden said in a Saturday statement his administration is in contact with Moroccan officials and is working to ensure Americans in the country are safe.
He said the U.S. is standing by, along with other nations, to provide assistance. Morocco's government hasn't formally asked for outside assistance.
The famous Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear.
Its 226-foot minaret is known as the “roof of Marrakech.” Muslims use the mosque daily for prayers, weddings and funerals, according to the mosque’s tourism website.
