Morocco Earthquake: Death Toll Rises To 600

The death toll from the violent earthquake that struck central Morocco early Saturday has risen to more than 600 with the number of those injured surpassing 300.

LEADERSHIP earlier reports that about 296 people had died and 153 people injured from the unfortunate incident.

But, the Moroccan interior ministry in an update, confirmed that 632 people died and 329 were injured from the earthquake

The ministry said, out of those injured, 51 were in a critical condition after the earthquake.

The quake, measuring magnitude 6.8 – sent people rushing into the streets in Marrakesh and other cities.

The disaster struck just after 23:00 local time, at a relatively shallow depth 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh, according to the US Geological Survey Unverified video clips on X (formerly Twitter) show damaged buildings and bubble-strewn streets.

Meanwhile, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholzhas, has sent condolences to Morocco over the tragedy.

Posting on X, Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls the earthquake “devastating” and says his thoughts were with the victims.

“Our sympathy goes out to all those affected by this natural disaster,” said Scholz, who is attending the G20 summit in India this weekend.