No Vietnamese deaths recorded in the earthquake of the century in Morocco

(Dan Tri) - Vietnamese Ambassador to Morocco Dang Thi Thu Ha said that no Vietnamese people were injured or killed in the earthquake on September 8, the strongest in nearly 140 years in this country.

People gather in a square in Marrakesh on September 9 after the earthquake (Photo: AFP/Getty).

"Currently, there are four delegations of Vietnamese officials working in the city of Marrakesh, near the epicenter of the earthquake. Some citizens are traveling and working in Morocco," Ambassador Dang Thi Thu Ha announced on Facebook.

Ms. Ha added that there were no reports of Vietnamese citizens being injured or killed by the earthquake, but some people had to "leave the hotel due to cracked walls."

According to Ambassador Ha, the Embassy's working group arrived in Marrakesh on the morning of September 9 to carry out citizen protection work. The Embassy has contacted Vietnamese citizens and the Vietnamese community in Morocco, and maintained contact with local authorities to prepare a plan to support citizens.

The earthquake struck Morocco's High Atlas Mountains at around 11 p.m. on September 8, killing at least 820 people and injuring at least 672 others, as well as collapsing numerous buildings, more than half of them in the provinces of Al-Haouz and Taroudant.

Morocco's geophysical center said the earthquake occurred in the Ighil area of ​​the High Atlas mountains with a magnitude of 7.2.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale. The agency assessed it as the largest earthquake in more than a century to hit the epicenter in Morocco.

It was also Morocco's deadliest earthquake since a 2004 quake in the northern Rif Mountains killed more than 600 people.

Local media reported that roads leading to the mountains around the epicenter were congested with vehicles and blocked by falling rocks, slowing rescue efforts.

Dantri.com.vn