PH
The interior ministry stated on Monday that at least 2,681 people perished in Morocco’s strongest-ever earthquake, reducing an earlier death toll of over 2,500.
Another 2,501 people were hurt, according to the government, as rescue personnel race against the clock to discover survivors.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck 72 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, destroying entire towns in the Atlas Mountains’ slopes.
On Sunday an aftershock of magnitude 4.5 rattled the same region.
The mountain village of Tafeghaghte, 60 kilometres from Marrakesh, was almost entirely destroyed, with very few buildings still standing.
Amid the debris, civilian rescuers and members of Morocco’s armed forces searched for survivors and the bodies of the dead.
