Hopes fade for survivors as Morocco quake toll passes 2,800

Rescuers are racing against time to find survivors in the remote areas hit hardest by Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades, with the death toll climbing to more than 2,800 people.

Search teams from Spain, the United Kingdom and Qatar have joined Moroccan rescue efforts after the magnitude 6.8 quake struck late on Friday, in the High Atlas Mountains, with the epicentre 72km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakesh.

State television reported that the death toll has risen to 2,862 with 2,562 people injured. Rescuers said the traditional mud brick houses ubiquitous in the region reduced the chances of finding survivors because they had crumbled.

(Aljazeera)