Pope Francis renewed this Sunday (10) the wishes to Moroccans sent the day before to the government of the African country. Before a crowd in St. Peter’s Square, the Catholic leader offered prayers and solidarity with the victims of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades.
“I pray for the injured, for those who lost their lives and for their relatives,” the pontiff said. “We stand alongside the people of Morocco.” Francis also thanked first responders for their efforts to “alleviate people’s suffering.”
On Friday night (8), a 6.8 magnitude earthquake left at least 2,012 dead and 2,059 injured, according to the most recent count from the Ministry of the Interior — making this the deadliest earthquake in the country since 1960, when a tremor caused the deaths of 12 thousand people.
The earthquake occurred in Ighil, in the High Atlas Mountains, about 70 kilometers southwest of Marrakech. According to authorities, the deaths are concentrated in the provinces and municipalities of Al Hauz, Marrakech, Ouarzazat, Azilal, Chichaoua and Tarudant.
The earthquake, which ruined traditional buildings in the High Atlas and toppled mud houses in villages, did not leave one of the most important sites in the region’s history unscathed: an earth and stone mosque built by a medieval dynasty that conquered North Africa and The Spain.
According to local press, parts of the Tinmel Mosque collapsed. Photographs are circulating on social media that the Reuters news agency was unable to immediately verify, but which show collapsed walls, a tower about to collapse and piles of rubble.
The Moroccan Ministry of Culture told Reuters that it would provide a budget to restore the construction, without giving details.
The 12th-century mosque was built where the Almohad dynasty established its first capital, in a remote Atlas valley. Later, the group would conquer Marrakech, proclaim its leader as caliph and advance on the region.
UNESCO said it was aware of reports of destruction at the site, but was still waiting for a team to be sent to assess damage. The mosque was a candidate to be included on the United Nations body’s list of world heritage sites.
The earthquake also caused damage to the ancient city of Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There, the tower of a mosque collapsed and parts of the city’s historic walls collapsed, as did traditional houses.
