Morocco earthquake updates: Over 2,900 killed in rare, powerful quake

The quake struck Morocco’s High Atlas mountain range near Marrakech.

ByRiley Hoffman, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: September 13, 2023, 4:51 PM EDT

The death toll has continued to climb in the wake of the rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco Friday night.

More than 2,900 people are confirmed dead.

The quake, Morocco's strongest in more than a century, hit the country's High Atlas mountain range near Marrakech.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 11, 2023, 12:47 PM EDT

Rescuers reach epicenter

For the first time on Monday, ambulances and aid teams in trucks reached Ighil, the mountainous area where the earthquake's epicenter was located, according to state TV.

Emergency workers carry a dead body, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Amizmiz, Morocco, Sept. 10, 2023.
Nacho Doce/Reuters

Emergency teams worked to clear rockfalls blocking rocks to over a dozen remote villages in the area, and members of the armed forces walked on foot along rugged roads to provide aid, state TV reported.

Rescue teams searched for missing victims under the rubble in the devastated Talat N'Yaaqoub village in the Atlas Mountains, which was almost entirely flattened.

A view of damages in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Adassil, Morocco, Sept. 11, 2023.
Nacho Doce/Reuters

TV footage showed rescuers pulling a newborn baby out from under the rubble.

TV footage also showed military helicopters dropping aid packages from the air into hard-to-reach areas.

Morocco's central bank has created a special account to receive donations from around the world.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Sep 11, 2023, 11:05 AM EDT

Death toll reaches 2,681

The death toll in Morocco has now reached 2,681.

At least 2,501 others are injured.

A woman reacts near the rubble of a building in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Talat N'yaaqoub, Morocco, Sept. 11, 2023.
Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Mohamed Sebbagh, 66, stands in front of his destroyed house, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Amizmiz, Morocco, Sept. 10, 2023.
Nacho Doce/Reuters

Sep 11, 2023, 7:04 AM EDT

Death toll rises to 2,497, officials say

At least 2,497 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Morocco, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said Monday.

Another 2,476 were injured in the quake, as of 10 a.m. local time on Monday, the forces said.

People gather their belongings under a tent after recovering it from the rubble of their home in the mountain village of Moulay Brahim in the central province of al-Haouz, on Sept. 11, 2023.
Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

Sep 10, 2023, 1:30 PM EDT

Biden offers 'necessary assistance' to devastated Morocco

President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his "sadness by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Morocco" and said the United States is committed to providing the country with all "necessary assistance."

During remarks in Vietnam, Biden said the United States is working to make sure Americans in Morocco are safe.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI," Biden said. "We're working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, standing ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people as well. We made that offer. "

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