Four French nationals perished, while 15 others were injured in the powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night at 11.11 p.m., France’s Foreign Ministry told CNN on Sunday.
The death toll across the kingdom currently stands at 2,122, with 2,421 people injured; the casualties are mainly in Al Haouz, Taroudant, Chichaoua, Marrakech, Ouarzazaet, the Greater Casablanca area, Agadir, Azilal, Youssoufia, and Tinghir.
Over the weekend, King Mohammed VI cut short a private visit to France and returned to Morocco on Saturday to convene an emergency meeting in Rabat to assess the damage in Morocco’s central regions, and focus on relief and reconstruction efforts.
The sovereign ordered the military to rapidly deploy important human and logistics support, and mobilize air and land special intervention units to assist the people affected by the earthquake. He also instructed the military to set up a medical-surgical field hospital to offer onsite medical care.
Qatar and Spain have already dispatched special intervention units, the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group, and Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit, to support relief efforts in Morocco, and a myriad of other countries including the US are standing ready to mobilize relief efforts once Morocco makes an official request.