A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale has hit the Marrakech region.
According to the bulletin issued by the Ministry of the Interior, the victims are around 2000. The seismographs recorded the earthquake at 23.11pm on Friday 8 September.
The epicenter identified at the foot of the Atlas, in the province of Al Haouz, probably in the center of Ighil, at a depth of 8 kilometers, just over 70 kilometers from Marrakech. However, the shock was felt along the entire ridge of the Atlas, in Merzouga, one of the gateways to the desert, Taroudant, Essaouira and Agadir and on the other side of the mountain range in Casablanca, up to Rabat. The undulating movement lasted about 30 seconds, but it seemed like much longer.
Fear especially in medina of Marrakech, where the most fragile parts of the walls surrounding the historic center have collapsed. Some homes have collapsed, in Jamaa el Fna square the minaret of a small mosque near the historic 'Café de France' collapsed. Damage was reported in the kasbah of Marrakech and house collapses in the north-east area. In the new city there are cracks in the bell tower of the Catholic church of Gueliz. Facade collapses in Essaouira, on the Atlantic Ocean and in Ouarzazate, in the central South.
Numerous injured, but for the moment no victims. Thousands poured into the streets of the new city of Marrakech and the alleys of the medina.
Electricity and internet went down. The switchboard of the Italian embassy in Rabat, writes Ansa, has received numerous calls, especially from tourists asking to return home. The airports are currently closed and will reopen on Saturday morning.
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