King Mohamed VI of Morocco visited this Tuesday at the Mohamed VI University Hospital Center in Marrakech those injured in the devastating earthquake that hit several southern towns last Friday, which has so far caused the death of more than 2,900 people and left more than 5,500 injured. The king has been late four days to make this visit and after several criticisms for its absence and slowness in managing the crisis.
The monarch arrived at the center by car, around 4:30 p.m. local time, accompanied by a long procession of official and security vehicleswas inside the hospital for about 45 minutes and also left by carin a visit whose coverage was restricted to Moroccan public media.
Is about the second appearance of Mohamed VI after the earthquake, after the working meeting that he chaired last Saturday with civil and military officials in which he ordered the deployment of an emergency program to care for the victims and rehabilitate the damaged buildings, and decreed three days of official mourning.
After the earthquake, which occurred on Friday night and had a magnitude of 7 degrees (the worst in the country’s history in a century), Mohamed VI also ordered the urgent deployment of the Army with important human and logistical air and land resources and also the establishment of a military hospital.
In 2004, Morocco suffered another earthquake in the Riffian town of Al Hoceima which caused hundreds of deaths. Then, the monarch, who was in the first years of his reign, traveled to the area for several days to care for the victims.
