The race is on track and trace survivors of the Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, 44 miles south of Marrakesh.
The earthquake hit just after 11 pm local time as many slept. Buildings collapsed, and some villages near the epicentre were almost completely destroyed, including Tafeghaghte.
CGTN’s Ken Browne is in Asni, Morocco and filed this report.
WATCH: Military field hospital set up for earthquake victims
An army hospital has been set up at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. People who have lost everything are now finding shelter and medical assistance. They talk of the night when their world collapsed, loved ones lost, and of an uncertain future. Saida was one of the lucky ones; she and her family of 15 made it out alive.
“In Asni, there isn’t a single inhabitable house; our entire village must be rebuilt from scratch,” said resident Saida Ladib.
“We don’t know how long we will live here; the authorities are focussing on the rescue of survivors and the search for the bodies.”
The facilities here have X-ray machines, a pharmacy, a traumatology tent, and even an operating theatre.
The injured arrive in ones and twos in ambulances, receiving attention as word spreads that the hospital is up and running.
In the middle, a Moroccan flag flies at half mast, marking three official days of national mourning.
The military field hospital was set up in less than 48 hours to treat the many survivors still trapped in the Atlas Mountains behind me, and it has the capacity for around a thousand people.
Beyond physical injuries, there is a psychiatrist here too to help victims with the mental trauma of a tragedy that will be difficult to forget.”
“The focus is often on physical health in a disaster, but we must address the psychological aspect too,” Moroccan Military Psychiatrist Adil Akaalor said.
“Luckily in this region, everyone knows everyone; it’s almost like one big family. The tragedy is shared.”
With many villages still unreachable, authorities access remote areas by helicopter and bring basic supplies like food and water.
There are concerns that tremors may continue and cause further rockslides, closing roads, and many obstacles remain.
“The biggest challenge is to help the population, to help the patients. We receive patients here; the patient is treated here, and it depends on the degree of casualty. If the situation is critical, we send them; if they need more medical support, we send them to Marrakech or other hospitals, ” said Hospital Chief Colonel Youssef Kabous.
With national and international help beginning to arrive in some of the disaster zones, the fading hopes of finding more victims alive rise a little.
