As Roger McKenzie reported, the earthquake toppled buildings not built to withstand such a mighty quake, trapping people in the rubble and sending others fleeing in terror.
International aid crews were prepared to deploy but remained in limbo waiting for the Morocco government to request assistance.
Arnaud Fraisse, founder of Rescuers Without Borders, who had a team in Paris waiting for the green light, said: “We know there is a great urgency to save people and dig under the remains of buildings.
“There are people dying under the rubble, and we cannot do anything to save them.”
Those left homeless by the quake or fearing more aftershocks slept outside on Saturday in the streets of the ancient city of Marrakech.
The city’s famous Koutoubia mosque, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear. The famous red walls that surround the old city, a Unesco World Heritage site, were also damaged.
Others in Atlas mountain towns such as Moulay Brahim, a poor rural community of less than 3,000 people, 35 miles from Marrakech, which was among the hardest hit, put up canopies from whatever was at hand.
Resident Fatna Bechar said: “I was asleep when the earthquake struck. I could not escape because the roof fell on me. I was trapped. I was saved by my neighbours, who cleared the rubble with their bare hands.” She added: “Now I am living with them in their house because mine was completely destroyed.”
The epicentre of the quake was near the town of Ighil in al-Haouz Province, roughly 44 miles south of Marrakech, and the worst destruction was in small rural communities that are hard for rescuers to reach because of the mountainous terrain.
A total of 2,012 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,059 more people were injured, many of them critically, Morocco's Interior Ministry said on Saturday night.
It is not yet clear what further damage, to people or buildings, has been caused by the latest aftershock.
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