Africa

BREAKING: At least 630 dead as powerful earthquake hits Morocco

Published

9 months ago

September 9, 2023

BREAKING: At least 630 dead as powerful earthquake hits Morocco

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit Morocco, killing at least 630 people, injuring more than 320, damaging buildings and sending terrified residents fleeing their homes into the streets for safety.

Morocco’s state television reported the doubling of the death toll on Saturday morning from overnight, citing the Ministry of Interior. Of those injured, 51 were in a critical condition.

Residents of Marrakesh, the nearest big city to the epicentre, said some buildings collapsed in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Local television showed images of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.

The earthquake hit shortly after 11pm local time (22:00 GMT) on Friday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimates the epicentre of the earthquake occurred in the Atlas Mountains, some 75km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, the fourth largest city in the country.

Search teams frantically scoured collapsed buildings for those trapped.

“The Royal Armed Forces, local authorities, security services and civil protection … continue to mobilise and harness all means and capabilities in order to intervene, provide the necessary assistance, and assess the damage,” the interior ministry said.

Journalist Noureddine Bazine from Marrakesh described the situation as an “horrific night”.

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“It was chaos the moment the earthquake happened, we’re still try to process what happened because it was so sudden,” she told Al Jazeera. “In Marrakesh, the most damage was in the old city because the buildings are prone to collapse because of their fragile state.”

Eid al-Tarazi, a professor of seismology in Jordan, told Al Jazeera “hundreds of aftershocks could happen”.

“People will need to stay away from the buildings that are not strong because they are prone to collapse. We expect the aftershocks could continue for three to four weeks,” he said.

Local media reported roads leading to the mountain region around the epicentre were jammed with vehicles and blocked with collapsed rocks, slowing rescue efforts.

Abderrahim Ait Daoud, the head of a town in the area, told the Moroccan news site 2M that several homes nearby had partly or totally collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut off in some places.

He also said authorities were working to clear roads in al-Haouz province to allow passage for ambulances and aid to populations affected. Large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the full extent of the damage, he added.

Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in Marrakesh damaged.

Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city. Shocked residents in Marrakesh and Casablanca fled out of buildings and onto the streets.

One Marrakesh resident, Brahim Himmi, said he spotted ambulances leaving the city’s historic old town. He also said building facades had been damaged as the earth shook.

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While earthquakes in the region are “uncommon but not unexpected”, one of this magnitude has not been seen in the immediate area in more than 120 years.

“Since 1900, there have been no earthquakes M6 [magnitude 6] or larger within 500km of this earthquake, and only nine M5 [magnitude 5] and larger,” the USGS said on its website.

Most of those previous earthquakes occurred further to the east as well, the agency added.

Friday evening’s earthquake was a relatively shallow one, occurring at a depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles). The USGS explained that “oblique-reverse faulting” in the Atlas Mountains was the cause of the earthquake.

The last major earthquake to strike Morocco occurred in 2004, killing more than 600 people. That temblor, dubbed the al-Hoceima earthquake, was positioned on an active plate boundary on the country’s northernmost coast, bordering the western Mediterranean Sea. It clocked in at a magnitude of 6.3.

An even larger earthquake struck neighbouring Algeria in 1980. Known as the el-Asnam earthquake, the magnitude 7.3 event was the strongest seismic activity the region had seen in centuries. Also originating in the Atlas Mountain range, it levelled houses, leaving 300,000 people on the street and at least 2,600 people dead.

Messages of support began to roll in from around the world on Saturday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted condolences on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently hosting the Group of 20 summit of the world’s largest economies, wrote, “India is ready to offer all possible assistance to Morocco in this difficult time.”

A UN spokesperson said “the United Nations is ready to assist the government of Morocco in its efforts to assist the impacted population”.

BREAKING: At least 630 dead as powerful earthquake hits Morocco

aljazeera

Related Topics:Earthquake Featured Morocco

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Nine child workers die in Egypt as bus plunges into the Nile

Published

4 hours ago

May 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Nine child workers die in Egypt as bus plunges into the Nile

At least 10 female farm workers, nine of them children, died in Egypt on Tuesday when a minibus plunged off a river ferry and into the Nile northwest of Cairo, the health ministry said.

“The toll is at 10 and could rise,” ministry spokesman Hossam Abdelghaffar told AFP.

Reporting the accident, the state’s flagship Al-Ahram newspaper said the driver, who had released the handbrake, was arrested while trying to flee.

He had “a verbal argument” with one of the passengers before getting out of the bus, the paper said.

Two of the victims — all of whom worked on an “export-oriented fruit farm” — were 13 years old, according to a list published by Al-Ahram.

The rest were 16 and younger, except for one victim who was identified as a 40-year old woman.

The vehicle sank at the village of Abu Ghalib, some 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of the capital.

Villagers used small wooden boats to row out and help search-and-rescue workers look for survivors, as relatives waited anxiously on the banks of the narrow stretch of the Nile.

A crane was finally able to lift the minibus from the water, after rescuers and locals had swum out to extract victims from the windows of the submerged vehicle.

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Nine injured passengers — most of them also minors, according to al-Ahram’s list — were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, the health ministry said in a statement.

A search operation was “ongoing” into the evening for five more passengers who were unaccounted for, Al-Ahram said.

The ministry of social solidarity said it would provide financial compensation “to the families of the deceased and injured”.

After carrying out an initial investigation at the scene, the public prosecutor’s office ordered a technical inspection of the minibus to try to determine “the reasons it had plunged into the water”, Al-Ahram reported.

Commuter accidents are common in Egypt, especially in agricultural areas along the Nile and adjoining streams, where small, overloaded boats ferry farmers and workers back and forth.

At least 1.3 million children are engaged in some form of child labour in the Arab world’s most populous nation, official figures show.

Most do unpaid work on family farms, according to the International Labour Organization.

However, children are also frequently sent to work on large-scale export-oriented farms, according to rural sociologist Saker al-Nour, who has studied agricultural labour conditions extensively.

“These accidents happen repeatedly because girls are packed, in their own words, like sardines into these minibuses” to go and work in “terrible conditions”, he told AFP.

Nine child workers die in Egypt as bus plunges into the Nile

AFP

Africa

Seven Soldiers, several terrorists killed in Niger Republic clash

Published

4 hours ago

May 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigerian military Troops

Seven Soldiers, several terrorists killed in Niger Republic clash

The Niger Republic’s military government reported on Tuesday that seven soldiers and dozens of terrorists were killed in recent clashes in the Tillaberi region, an area troubled by insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The defence ministry stated that suspected jihadists attacked a military position in Boni, near the Burkina Faso border, on Monday.

In addition to the fatalities, two individuals, including a civilian, were wounded in the attack, according to a statement read on state television. The statement noted that “several dozen terrorists” were neutralized and their transportation means destroyed.

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Defence Minister General Salifou Modi assured the public of the defence and security forces’ “unwavering determination” to combat the terrorist threat. Tillaberi is part of the “three borders” region between Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which has been a hotspot for insurgent attacks despite significant anti-jihadist force deployments.

This recent incident follows a terrorist ambush in August between Boni and Torodi, which resulted in the deaths of seventeen Nigerien soldiers.

The Niger Republic has been under military rule since a July 2023 coup, justified by the leaders as a response to the deteriorating security situation. In addition to the threats from Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups, the Niamey regime also contends with violence from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the southeastern region of Diffa, near Nigeria.

Seven Soldiers, several terrorists killed in Niger Republic clash

Africa

JUST IN: South African highest court disqualifies Jacob Zuma from contesting election

Published

1 day ago

May 20, 2024

Trends Admin

Jacob Zuma

JUST IN: South African highest court disqualifies Jacob Zuma from contesting election

South Africa’s highest court ruled on Monday that Jacob Zuma, the controversial former President now turned opposition figure, cannot run for parliament in the upcoming general election due to his prior conviction for contempt of court.

The decision, coming just days before the May 29th poll, is expected to anger Zuma’s supporters and raises concerns about potential unrest in the lead-up to the highly competitive election, the most fiercely contested since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Zuma had challenged the Electoral Commission’s decision barring him from running for a seat in parliament due to his conviction and subsequent imprisonment in 2021. Despite serving less than three months of his 15-month sentence, the court ruled that his conviction rendered him ineligible to stand for election, citing the constitutional provision disqualifying anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in prison.

Justice Leona Theron, delivering the judgment, stated, “This court concludes that Mr. Zuma was convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment… and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of and not qualified to stand for election to the national assembly.”

Zuma’s absence from the ballot could significantly impact the dynamics of the election. In South Africa, the president is chosen by members of parliament, and without Zuma’s candidacy, his new political party would be unable to propose him for the presidency even if it secures enough seats.

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Despite the setback, Zuma’s supporters, many of whom gathered outside the court wearing military attire associated with his party, remain determined to win sufficient seats in the National Assembly to potentially amend the constitution.

While opinion polls suggest limited support for Zuma’s party beyond his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, his followers express unwavering resolve. Lindiwe Mtshali, a member of Zuma’s party, voiced disappointment but affirmed confidence in the party’s remaining candidates, stating, “We are resolute.”

Zuma’s political ambitions have led to significant legal battles since his departure from office. He established his party to challenge the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the election, marking the first serious challenge to the ANC’s dominance since 1994.

Neeshan Balton of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, which provided legal advice in the case, welcomed the ruling outside the court, emphasizing the importance of upholding the constitution for all candidates.

The exclusion of Zuma from the ballot could reshape the political landscape and force potential coalition negotiations. Furthermore, there are concerns that the decision may provoke unrest akin to the violent protests following his imprisonment last year, which claimed hundreds of lives.

Despite Zuma’s image already printed on ballot papers, his disqualification renders him ineligible for parliamentary membership if the court’s ruling stands.