RABAT: The death toll from the massive earthquake in the North African country of Morocco has crossed two thousand. The current report is that 2212 people have died and 2,059 were injured. The death toll is likely to rise further as more than a thousand of the injured are in critical condition. The search is on for those trapped among the collapsed buildings. The rescuers say that the sight is heartbreaking.

An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale occurred at around 11 p.m. on Friday. An aftershock of magnitude 4.9 occurred 19 minutes later. Most of the dead were sleeping at home. The tremors were felt as far away as Spain, Portugal and Algeria. The epicentre of the earthquake was in a sparsely populated area of ​​the Atlas Mountains, 71 km southwest of the tourist attraction city of Marrakesh.

The deaths were confirmed in the provinces and cities of Marrakesh, Al-Haus, Azilal, Ouarzazate, Chichowa and Taroudant. Most of the dead are from remote areas. Many villages were destroyed. Tremors were also felt in the cities of Rabat and Casablanca. Electricity and internet services were disrupted.

After the earthquake, panicked people ran out of their houses and spent the night on the roads and in their vehicles. Damage was also reported in Marrakesh's Medina, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Countries like India, Russia, US, UK and France came forward to support the people of Morocco. Spain said it would send rescue workers to Morocco.

Earthquakes that shook Morocco

(Year, City, Death, Richter Scale Intensity)

2004 - Al Hoceima - 628 ( 6.3 )

1960 - Agadir - 12,000 ( 5.8 )

1755 - Meknes - 15,000 ( 6.5 )