Frantic search for survivors continue as Morocco earthquake death toll nears 3,000

Rescue teams are racing against the clock to find survivors from the rubble of the devastating earthquake that tore through Morocco on Friday — but hope is fading.

On Tuesday, officials pegged the number of casualties at 2,800 while the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 100,000 children have been affected.

The earthquake which was the strongest to hit the North African country in more than 60 years, affected the south of Marrakesh and damaged buildings in major cities.

The country’s interior ministry said the tremors were felt in neighbouring Algeria and Portugal.

Rescue efforts have proven complicated as the near magnitude 7 quake struck in a mountainous area where access is extremely difficult.

While planes from Qatar, Britain, and Spain have arrived Morocco with humanitarian aid and a rescue team, other foreign countries have expressed concern over what seems like a reluctance by the North African nation to accept help.

In a statement on Sunday, the Moroccan interior ministry said it would initially accept search-and-rescue teams only from Britain, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates — which it called “friendly countries” — after taking into account the “needs of the field”.

Other countries including France, Germany, Italy, and the United States, along with the United Nations (UN), however said they were waiting to provide any help they could offer pending Morocco’s request.

Tunisia and Saudi Arabia have also said they are sending aid, but it is not clear if any has been dispatched.

Survivors of the quake have expressed frustration at the government over an “absence of action” as they have been relying on each other to provide services such as food donations and primary healthcare.

The Red Cross said it would take over $110m to provide desperately needed assistance in Morocco.