Morocco Quake Toll Tops 560

A powerful earthquake that struck northern Morocco early Tuesday buried hundreds of sleeping residents in the rubble of fragile mud-and-brick homes, killing at least 564, government officials said.

Rescuers using pickaxes and dogs were searching for survivors after the magnitude 6.5 quake destroyed rural communities near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima and rattled buildings as far away as southern Spain.

In addition to the dead, at least 300 people were injured, the official MAP news agency reported late Tuesday. Many of the injured were being treated in army barracks, health centers and charity homes. Others were airlifted to Rabat, Casablanca and Meknes.

“I woke up to a big bang. I don’t even remember how I managed to escape from the house,” said a teacher who did not want to give his name.

The man’s parents, three brothers and a sister died in the hamlet of Ait Abdelaziz, where he said 70% of the houses were destroyed.

“My sister was shouting, begging me to lift a big, heavy door under which she was trapped. We could not. She died,” he said, sobbing.

Authorities were scrambling to reach about half a dozen remote villages in the region. Dozens of aftershocks and rain complicated relief efforts.

More than 200 workers from the Moroccan Red Crescent were sent to the area, along with helicopters carrying emergency supplies.

Those left homeless erected tents of plastic sheeting.

Al Hoceima itself was largely spared, with only light structural damage in some places.

The temblor struck about 2:30 a.m., centered in the Mediterranean about 100 miles northeast of Fez, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“As soon as we think we’ve seen all the dead and injured, more keep coming in ambulances,” said a doctor at Al Hoceima’s main hospital.