Morocco earthquake survivor shares saddening tale of loss and survival

By Mehmet Akif Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - A survivor who managed to free himself from the rubble after a magnitude 7 earthquake in Morocco has shared his struggle in finding joy in his survival.

"My parents live next door with my siblings. They were also trapped under their mud house. We tried to rescue them about an hour after the earthquake, but we were too late. They had lost their lives under the earth. I have two younger siblings, they died under the rubble. My wife, my daughter, and I survived, but we couldn't rejoice in our survival. We lost our loved ones, our elders, in the earthquake," Ibrahim Vaali told Anadolu.

Vaali suffered injuries to various parts of his body during the initial impact on earthquake night last week.

He went on to explain the horrifying experience, saying "When the earthquake began around 11:30 on Friday night, we were filled with great fear. Everything turned upside down in just 3 seconds. I survived because I was on the side with a roof made of reeds. I was buried in soil all around."

When the earthquake occurred, Vaali remembers hearing the cries of his wife and his four-month-old daughter, then they managed to climb out of the rubble on their own.

"My grandmother was with us too. We rescued her as well, but she had a broken back, so they took her to surgery,” he said.

Vaali further said that the neighborhood he lived in Amizmiz was old and the houses were mostly made of mud.

The earthquake, which occurred on Sept. 8 with its epicenter in El-Huz, a region connected to the city of Marrakesh, resulted in significant damage felt not only in the capital, Rabat, but also in cities like Casablanca, Meknes, Agadir, and Fes.

It claimed nearly 3,000 lives as of late Monday and left thousands more injured.

While some historic buildings in major cities sustained damage, there were no collapses in concrete structures.

Rescue and relief efforts continue in Amizmiz, a town within El-Huz, which suffered extensive damage to its older neighborhoods.

Many volunteers from neighboring cities came to Amizmiz to assist in search and rescue efforts and help earthquake survivors.

A young volunteer, Abdurrahim Bezag, said that numerous casualties occurred within the collapsed buildings, and the search and rescue operations were being conducted under extremely demanding circumstances.

"We heard that many people were trapped under the rubble, so we came here. We managed to rescue some of them from the debris, but most of the survivors lost their family members," Bezag said.

"While working in the rubble, we experienced three small earthquakes. These earthquakes further complicated our work. We brought the injured we could rescue from the debris to the hospital, but the hospital is also lacking many things," Bezag, Marrakesh resident, said.

"We saved many people in Sidi Huseyin neighborhood. Ambulances cannot pass through the narrow streets, so we had to carry the injured by hand. Many people are in distress, and the survivors are struggling to stay alive under difficult conditions. A great tragedy has occurred here; some lost their children, and others lost all their family members,” he further added.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul