A powerful earthquake measuring more than six points on the Richter scale struck northern Morocco overnight on Tuesday, killing at least 300 people, the official news agency MAP said.
Local rescue workers and medical staff said several hundred people were injured.
The quake shook rural areas near the coastal city of Al-Hoceima, officials said, and there were deep worries about the fate of three villages — Ait Kamra, Tamassint and Imzourn — where 30 000 people live in mud structures unable to withstand a major natural disaster.
The quake took place at about 2.30am local time, MAP reported.
Military and civilian rescuers were dispatched to the scene to help survivors and to search for victims who may have been trapped under rubble. However, they reported difficulties in reaching the affected area because of its remoteness.
The death toll was expected to rise throughout the day, the Interior Ministry said.
The quake measured 6,3 points on the Richter scale, according to the French earth sciences laboratory in Strasbourg.
The National Geographical Institute in Spain estimated the intensity at 6,1 points on the Richter scale, and said the quake was centred 15km southeast of the port of Al Hoceima, about 50km west of the Spanish-ruled North African enclave of Melilla.
Al-Hoceima is the largest city in northern Morocco and is populated by Berbers. The region suffers from extreme poverty and underdevelopment and has been neglected by the government for decades following a rebellion in 1960.
The local economy is sustained by fishing and by farmers who grow cannabis.
US Geological Survey spokesperson Butch Kinerney said the earthquake’s strength and depth could lead to damage along the coasts. He said the quake was likely to have been felt up to 320km away in Algeria.
The last large earthquake to hit the area measured six on the Richter scale and struck in 1994. But Morocco’s deadliest earthquake was in 1960, when 15 000 people were killed after a devastating quake shook the southern city of Agadir and surrounding regions. — Sapa-AP