CASABLANCA: The official death toll in the Moroccan earthquake rose to more than 2,800 people, with more than 2,500 injured.
Latest figures released by the country’s Interior Ministry revealed that the province of Al-Haouz, south of Marrakesh, which was at the center of the quake, bore the brunt of casualties, with 1,604 dead. In Taroudant, the next worse-hit area, the tremors claimed nearly 500 lives.
Saudi Arabia has been among several Arab countries to offer support to Rabat.
Under directives issued by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi aid agency KSrelief quickly set up an air bridge to provide relief to Morocco.
And search and rescue teams, in collaboration with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, have been deployed to provide humanitarian assistance.
Joining other Emirati leaders in expressing condolences to the people of Morocco, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan also ordered the establishment of a humanitarian air corridor to provide immediate material assistance to quake victims.
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan are helping too with Algeria having offered to open its airspace for humanitarian and medical flights to Morocco.
In a statement, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha pledged the body’s full support for the North African nation in the wake of the natural disaster.
* This article first appeared on Arab News en français.
