Morocco accepted aid from four nations – the UK, Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – after a powerful earthquake hit the country on September 8. International rescue teams arrived quickly to set up search operations at the base of the Atlas Mountains, where the epicentre of the quake was located. FRANCE 24's team on the ground reports.
With most of the damage caused by the earthquake located in remote villages high in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, ongoing search and rescue missions are fraught with difficulty.
The journey to remote, earthquake-struck villages is long, with traffic snarl-ups between rescuers, aid convoys and bulldozers shifting debris.
In the small village of Inerni, a sense of bitterness against government inaction can be perceived among survivors.
"If we'd had help from the state and qualified people, we could have saved so many more lives,” a young man said to FRANCE 24.
“I worked for three days, day and night, we dug with our hands and followed the smell of the bodies," he said.
Almost nothing is left in the village of Imi N'Tala after a cliff collapsed, destroying entire families.
Even as efforts continue to recover the bodies of the dead, an even greater challenge awaits – rebuilding the lives of those who once called these ruins home.
Please click on the video player above to watch the report.
