More than 600 people were killed after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, Morocco’s TV reported on Saturday, citing the Ministry of Interior.
The earthquake was felt in many cities across Morocco, including Rabat and Casablanca, the largest city in the North African country.
Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km.
Ighil, a mountainous area featuring small farming villages, is about 70 km southwest of Marrakech.
The quake struck just after 11 p.m. local time (2200 GMT).
In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.
In 1960, a magnitude-5.8 tremor struck near Agadir in the country and caused thousands of deaths. – CGTN.
