Over 1,000 dead and 1,200 injured

The death toll climbed to more than 1,000 hours after a rare, powerful earthquake ripped through the Atlas Mountains and the historic city of Marrakech in Morocco Saturday — with first responders struggling to make their way through rubble-strewn roads to tend to survivors.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the country’s armed forces to mobilize air and land rescue teams and construct a field hospital after the 6.8 magnitude quake, according to a statement from the country’s military.

At least 1,037 people have died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter of the quake, with another 1,204 injured, according to reports.

One woman told Moroccan state TV that she had lost four children and her husband.

The village of Adassil in the Atlas Mountains was almost completely reduced to rubble, video posted to X, former Twitter, showed.

On Saturday, state television showed dozens of Moroccans lining up at blood transfusion centers in Marrakech and Rabat to donate blood.

Abderrahim Ait Daoud, leader of the town of Talat N’Yaaqoub, told the Moroccan news site 2M that several homes had collapsed in his area, but the total extent of the damage in the remote region was not known because the extensive damage had blocked area roads, making it difficult for first responders to gain access, he said.

Moroccan authorities are working to clear roads in Al Haouz Province to allow passage for ambulances, according to reports.

State television also showed hundreds of people camped out in the streets of Marrakech Friday night, too afraid to return to homes that they feared would collapse after the quake.

In Marrakech, the 12th century Koutoubia Mosque showed signs of damage.

Moroccans posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.