Morocco earthquake: Rescue teams race against time to find survivors as death toll crosses 2,800

Morocco's earthquake death toll, as per the latest estimates, has crossed 2,800. As per state TV reports, late on Monday, the number of dead had risen to 2,862, and 2,562 people were injured.

Devastated by the biggest earthquake in over a century to hit the nation, villagers in parts of Morocco had to camp outside for the fourth night, reports Reuters.

Rescue efforts

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Aided by search teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar, Morocco is engaged in a race to find survivors, just days after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit High Atlas Mountain late on Friday (September 8th).

While the latest tally sets the number of injured at 2,562 and the number of fatalities at 2,862, this number may rise exponentiallyas much of the quake zone, as per Reuters, is in hard-to-reach areas. Due to this, authorities are yet to release any estimates for the number of missing people.

Talking to AFP, Annika Coll, who is leading the Spanish team, said: "The big difficulty is in zones remote and difficult to access, like here, but the injured are choppered out."

Three days into the rescue efforts, Albert Vasquez, the Spanish unit's communications officer, warned that "it's very difficult to find people alive after three days" but said "hope is still there".

Epicentre and more

The epicentre of the devastating quake that hit the Atlas Mountains was about 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakesh.

In the old city, some historical buildings, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged. The quake, as per Reuters, also caused major damage to the historically significant 12th-century Tinmel Mosque.

However, the more modern parts of Marrakesh escaped largely unscathed.

The Morocco army on Monday said it was reinforcing search-and-rescue teams, providing drinking water, and distributing food, tents and blankets. As per AFP, the presence on the ground will be reinforced by five more canine rescue teams. The team that will be composed of "31 specialists, 15 search and rescue dogs and 11 vehicles" will be arriving on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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