The new death toll of the massive 7-magnitude earthquake that hit Morocco, on Friday night, reached 2,946 (2944 of them were buried), addition to 5,674 injured, according to an update by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.
The new deaths were recorded in Al Haouz (1,684), and Taroudant (980). No further fatalities were reported in other affected regions.
As soon as King Mohammed VI landed in Morocco on Saturday, after cutting short a private visit to France, he convened in Rabat an emergency meeting to assess the damage that the central regions suffered, with reconstruction efforts on top of the agenda.
The sovereign had ordered the military to urgently deploy important human and logistical resources, and air and land special intervention units to assist the populations that were affected by the earthquake. The sovereign had also instructed the military to set up a medical-surgical field hospital to offer onsite medical care.
On Tuesday, the King visited victims who were admitted to the Marrakech University Hospital for sustaining injuries due to the violent quake, and he donated his blood in solidarity with the victims and the bereaved families.