A general view shows the damage in the historic city of Marrakech, Morocco, on Saturday. Reuters

Gulf Today Report

More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured in an earthquake near Marrakech that flattened homes and devastated mountain villages.

The Interior Ministry said on Saturday afternoon that the death toll had reached 1,037, with 1,204 injured, 721 of them critically. The casualty toll was expected to climb as rescuers reached remote areas and dug through rubble for survivors or bodies.

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest big city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.

The Interior Ministry urged calm, saying in its televised statement on the death toll that the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.

Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicentre, said most houses there were damaged. "Our neighbours are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village," he said.

People look at debris in the aftermath of an earthquake in Marrakech, Morocco on Saturday. Reuters

Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his home and felt aftershocks. "The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor," he said.

Morocco's geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles).

'Unbearable' screams

Faisal Baddour, an engineer, said he felt the earthquake three times in his building.

"People went out into the street just after this total panic, and there are families who are still sleeping outside because we were so scared of the force of this earthquake," he said. "It was as if a train was passing close to our houses."

Frenchman Michael Bizet, 43, who owns three traditional riad houses in Marrakesh's old town, told AFP that he had been in bed at the time of the quake.

"I thought my bed was going to fly away. I went out into the street half-naked and immediately went to see my riads. It was total chaos, a real catastrophe, madness," he said.

The 43-year-old shared video of piles of rubble from collapsed walls in the streets.

Footage on social media also showed part of a minaret collapsed on the famous Jemaa el-Fna square in the historic city.

Fayssal Badour, another Marrakesh resident, told AFP he was driving when the earthquake hit.

People gather on a street in Casablanca, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, on Saturday. Reuters

"I stopped and realised what a disaster it was... The screaming and crying was unbearable," he said.

The interior ministry said authorities have "mobilised all the necessary resources to intervene and help the affected areas".

Hospitals in Marrakesh reportedly saw a "massive influx" of injured people.

The regional blood transfusion centre in Marrakesh has called on residents to donate blood for those injured.

In the town of Al-Haouz, near the epicentre of the quake, a family was trapped in the rubble after their house collapsed, local media reported.