INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night.The 6.8-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area 72
kilometres (45 miles) southwest of tourist hotspot Marrakesh at 11:11 pm (2211 GMT) Friday, the US Geological Survey reported.Strong tremors
interior ministry figures on Saturday showed the quake killed at least 1,037 people, the vast majority in Al-Haouz, the epicentre, and
Taroudant provinces.Another 1,204 people were injured, including 721 in a critical condition, the ministry said.The ministry also recorded
rescuers were searching for survivors in the rubble of collapsed houses, AFP correspondents reported.On a nearby hill, residents began
I went out into the street half-naked and immediately went to see my riads
in the historic city.An AFP correspondent saw hundreds of people flocking to the square to spend the night for fear of aftershocks, some
with blankets while others slept on the ground.Mimi Theobold, 25, a tourist from England, said she was with friends on a restaurant terrace
the Algerian Civil Defence said it had not caused any damage or casualties.In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a
quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco, and in 1960 a magnitude 6.7 quake in Agadir killed more than 12,000.The 7.3-magnitude El Asnam
earthquake in Algeria killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless in 1980.Source: AFP
-Agencies
