Deadly earthquake hits Morocco near Marrakesh – in pictures

Difficult search-and-rescue mission: people watch from a safe distance as emergency response workers search for survivors. On Sunday, the Arabic-language Moroccan online news site Hespress reported that Spanish search-and-rescue teams with sniffer dogs had arrived in the country to support local efforts

Deadly quake struck late at night: the powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco late on Friday night just after 11 p.m. More than 2,000 people are dead and over 1,400 are in still in a critical condition, according to the Interior Ministry

Historic city of Marrakesh badly damaged: the earthquake occurred at a depth of 18.5 kilometres. The epicentre was situated in the High Atlas mountains, in the al-Haouz region of southwest Morocco. The historic city of Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination, is home to about 840,000 residents and located just 72 kilometres from the earthquake's epicentre

Fear of aftershocks causes panic overnight: unverified images on social media showed panicked people pouring onto the streets. Concerned about potential aftershocks, many Moroccans spent the night outdoors in various cities

Rescue operation begins: rescuers began searching for people trapped in the debris shortly after the earthquake hit. Health authorities are urging Moroccans to donate blood to assist the victims

Remote villages cut off: reaching people in villages where older buildings may be more susceptible to collapse will be extremely challenging, several officials have warned

Roads jammed with vehicles, fallen rocks: in the mountains, rescue efforts have been hindered as roads became congested with vehicles and blocked by fallen boulders, Moroccan media reported. The area is a favourite destination for mountaineers, with residents earning most of their income from tourism

UNESCO World Heritage Sites damaged: residents in Marrakesh have reported that some buildings collapsed in the historic old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marrakesh’s renowned Koutoubia Mosque, constructed in the 12th century, suffered damage. Damage was also reported to the mosque's 69-metre minaret, often referred to as the "roof of Marrakesh", and parts of the iconic red walls encircling the old city

Strongest earthquake in a century: it was the strongest quake to hit the nation in over a century, according to the head of the National Institute of Geophysics in Morocco. In 1960, a 5.8 magnitude quake shook the port of Agadir and left at least 12,000 dead. A devastating earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima in 2004 led to the loss of over 600 lives

Rural, historic buildings vulnerable to earthquakes: after the Agadir quake, Morocco changed its construction regulations. But many older buildings across the country have not been retrofitted to withstand such tremors

Three days of national mourning: Morocco has declared three days of national mourning following the deadly natural disaster. The national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country, the royal court said in a statement released on Saturday evening, a day after the quake