Morocco earthquake: Race to find survivors as death toll rises to 2,500 – live

The death toll from the earthquake has risen to nearly 2,500, officials have said.

The Moroccan Armed Forces said on X, formerly Twitter, that the death as of Monday AM was 2,497.

Some 2,476 have been injured.

The epicenter was high in the Atlas Mountains about 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.

The region is largely rural, made up of red-rock mountains, picturesque gorges and glistening streams and lakes.

The earthquake shook most of Morocco and caused injury and death in other provinces, including Marrakech, Taroudant and Chichaoua.

Of the 2,122 deaths reported as of Sunday evening, 1,351 were in Al Haouz, a region with a population of around 570,000, according to Morocco’s 2014 census.

People speak a combination of Arabic and Tachelhit, Morroco’s most common Indigenous language. Villages of clay and mud brick built into mountainsides have been destroyed.

France’s foreign minister has said it is up to Morocco whether to seek French aid that the country is ready to help if asked.

Paris and Rabat have had a difficult relationship in recent years notably over the issue of Western Sahara, which Morocco wants France to recognise as Moroccan. Morocco has not had an envoy in Paris since January.

“This is a misplaced controversy,” Catherine Colonna told BFM television when asked why Morocco had not made an official request to Paris for urgent assistance despite accepting help from Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“We are ready to help Morocco. It’s a sovereign Moroccan decision and it’s up to them to decide,” she said.

Rescuers continue to dig to find survivors in the rubble more than 48 hours after Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades.

Search teams from Spain and Britain are joining efforts to find survivors of the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck late on Friday night 40 miles (70km) southwest of Marrakech.

Search-and-rescue specialists with sniffer dogs have been sent by Britain and Spain. For its part, Qatar said on Sunday its search-and-rescue team departed for Morocco.

The epicentre was about 70km (43 miles) southwest of Marrakech – the fourth-biggest city in Morocco, and by far the most popular draw for international visitors.

Thousands of British holidaymakers are in the area, with many thousands more booked to go there during September. This is the travel picture.

Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in decades are struggling to find food and shelter as the search goes on for those missing and the death toll rises.

The number of dead is now more than 2,122, with another 2,421 injured. Those totals are likely to increase as rescue workers and residents dig through the rubble. Many people on Sunday were preparing to spend a third night in the open after the near-7 magnitude earthquake hit late on Friday. The quake’s epicentre was around 70km (40 miles) southwest of Marrakech.

Relief workers face the challenge of reaching areas in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled. In the badly-hit village of Amizmiz, residents watched as rescuers used a mechanical digger on a collapsed house. “They are looking for a man and his son. One of them might still be alive,” said Hassan Halouch, a retired builder. The team eventually recovered only bodies.

As the country mourns the loss of life after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 2000, there is now concern among experts over humanitarian aid reaching the more remote parts of the country.

Samia Errazzouki, an expert in the history and governance of the Moroccan state at Stanford University in California, told the Guardian: “Roads and access to this region [a village near the foot of the Atlas mountains] are already difficult, before you compound that with difficulties like rubble or problems with the roads. It’s going to take a miracle to get immediate aid there.”

“These regions have historically been hit with earthquakes, but they have also been marginalised,” Ms Errazzouki said.

“Obviously we can’t prevent earthquakes, and loss of life is unfortunately inevitable with something of this magnitude. But what can be controlled is how we respond to it and how we deal with it. It takes a crisis, a disaster like this to shed light on the day-to-day realities of people who live in the margins.”

There is a need for psychological support for the survivors of the devastating earthquake, a psychiatrist told Moroccon state broadcaster 2M.

Omar Battas, a psychiatrist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Casablanca told the news host that there is a strong need to strengthen psychological support for survivors of the Moroccon tragedy.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the earthquake and of the 2,059 injured, more than 1,400 are said to be seriously hurt, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.

“We are looking at many months if not several years of response,” Hossam Elsharkawi, the Red Cross Middle East and North Africa director said.

Aftershocks will continue to rock Morocco even weeks or months after the earthquake that killed more than 2,000, a seismological expert has warned.

Remy Mossu, the director of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, told Sky News that more than 25 aftershocks have already hit the country since the 6.8 magnitude earthquake.

“There will be aftershocks. It is not probably, it is a certainty,” he said.

“They will keep going for days and weeks, but we don’t know how many or how big they will be. In a few months, we may still have aftershocks from time to time, this won’t be surprising.”

He warned that it is “extremely difficult” for civilians to re-enter buildings given the uncertainty.