A child reacts after inspecting the damage caused by the earthquake, in her town of Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Morocco, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they prayed for victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and toiled to rescue survivors while soldiers and workers brought water and supplies to desperate mountain villages in ruins. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
APTOPIX Morocco Earthquake
TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco (AP) — Moroccan soldiers and aid teams in trucks and helicopters are battling to reach remote mountain towns devastated by a monstrous earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people. Survivors are desperate for help to find loved ones feared trapped under the rubble. Moroccan officials have so far accepted government-offered aid from just four countries: Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates. Some foreign aid teams said they were awaiting permission to deploy. Morocco’s Interior Ministry says officials want to avoid a lack of coordination that “would be counterproductive.” The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake, made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth.