Strong Quake Hits Morocco, At Least 82 Dead

The tremor, which hit the northeastern port of Al Hoceima on the Mediterranean coast at2 : 27am ( 0227GMT), measured6 . 3points on the open-ended Richter scale, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported quoting the French earth sciences laboratory in Strasbourg.

The National Geographical Institute in Spain estimated the intensity at 6 . 1points on the Richter scale, and said the epicenter was15 kilometers southeast of Al Hoceima, some 50 kilometers west of the Spanish-ruled north African enclave of Melilla.

Rescue teams have rushed in to find survivors of the powerful quake, which caused severe damage in the small towns of Imzouren and Ait Kamara.

Many people had come to Al Hoceima in a state of "total panic" for medical treatment, a doctor running one clinic in the town, Mohammed Lacghar, told AFP by telephone, saying he had "never seen anything like it."

The initial tremor, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, woke residents from their beds and sparked calls to emergency services over a wide region.

Many houses in Imzouren and Ait Kamara collapsed, local civil protection authorities said.

Rescue workers feared that more victims would be found in the wreckage.

Some of the casualties were reported from rural areas around Al Hoceima, while the tremor sparked calls to emergency services over a wide region.

The army and the royal gendarmerie, or paramilitary police, joined local rescue services and teams from the civil protection authority, MAP said.

It added that the shock was felt in several parts of the country, including the regions of Fes and Taza further to the south.

Helicopters have also been flown in to the affected region, with large quantities of search and rescue equipment, MAP said.

The Spanish institute said the quake was felt in both Melilla and the southern Spanish regions of Andalusia and Murcia, although no damage was reported from any of those regions.

The Europa Press agency said the situation appeared to be normal in Melilla, although rescue services received a large number of calls from panicked residents.

The last powerful tremor hit the area measured6 . 0and struck in1994 .

Morocco’s worst earthquake in modern times occurred in February1960 . At least 12 , 000people were killed when an earthquake measuring6 . 7percent on the Richter scale wrecked the port city of Agadir on the Atlantic coast.