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Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll climbs to over 2,000

Storyline:World

RABAT: Morocco on Saturday declared three days of national mourning after a devastating earthquake jolted the kingdom late Friday night.

Flags will fly at half-mast on all public facilities during the national mourning, according to a statement released by the Royal Office after Moroccan King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting on the disaster.

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Morocco Friday at 11:11 p.m. local time (2211 GMT) at a depth of 18.5 km, said the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, some 70 km southwest of Marrakesh.

The quake has claimed the lives of 2,012 people and injured 2,059, with 1,404 of them in serious condition, according to the latest update from the country’s Interior Ministry on Saturday.

Morocco has not experienced a disaster of this magnitude since 2004 when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit the port city of Al Hoceima, killing around 630 people.

  • Source – Xinhua