More than 600 people now confirmed dead in Morocco’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake About 632 people have now been confirmed dead in the late Friday earthquake that struck Morocco.

The number of casualties are expected to rise as rescuers search through rubble and attempt to reach remote villages…

More than 600 people have now been confirmed dead and hundreds more are injured after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck in Morocco.

The number of casualties are expected to rise as rescuers dig through rubble and attempt to reach remote villages. The epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains – about 43 miles (70km) away from Marrakech, a popular tourist destination.

The earthquake struck late on Friday – damaging buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into the streets.

At least 329 people were injured and are being treated in hospital. The head of the National Institute of Geophysics in Morocco has said that Friday’s earthquake is the strongest in a century in the country.

He added that the core of the earthquake was the al-Haouz region in southwest Morocco.

While reacting to the tremor, the United Nations said it stood ready to help the Moroccan government in “its efforts to assist the impacted population”, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

In his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “We will support our Moroccan brothers in every way in this difficult hour,” he said in a message on X, formerly Twitter