Rabat, Morocco:

A powerful earthquake in Morocco has killed more than 600 people and injured hundreds, destroying buildings and forcing residents of major cities to flee their homes in the country’s deadliest earthquake since at least 2004.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the High Atlas mountains in Morocco late Friday night. A local official said most of the deaths occurred in mountainous areas that were difficult to reach. State media, citing updated preliminary figures from the interior ministry, said 632 people were killed and another 329 wounded.

The quake damaged buildings in Marrakech, the large city closest to the epicenter, where residents spent the night in the open, too afraid to go home.

A mosque minaret had collapsed in Jemaa el-Fna square, the center of Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“Immediately after the strong earthquake, we had to flee,” said Johri Mohammed, a resident of the old city, describing dismal scenes as people ran for safety.

He said, “I am still unable to sleep at home because of the shock and also because the old city is made up of old houses. If one falls, it will cause others to fall.”

Local television showed pictures of the wreckage lying on the damaged cars.

The interior ministry urged calm in a televised statement on the death toll, saying the quake had affected the provinces of El Houz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichoua and Taroudant.

Montasir Itari, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the epicenter, said most of the houses there were damaged. “Our neighbors are under the debris and people are working hard to rescue them using the means available in the village,” he said.

Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his home and felt the tremors. He said, “The earth shook for about 20 seconds. As I ran downstairs from the second floor, the doors opened and closed on their own.”

Morocco’s Geophysics Center said the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.2, occurred in the Ighil region of the High Atlas. The US Geological Survey gave the earthquake a magnitude of 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 mi).

Ighil, a mountainous region with small farming villages, is about 70 km (40 mi) southwest of Marrakech. The quake occurred just after 11 pm (2200 GMT).

The earthquake is Morocco’s deadliest since the 2004 earthquake near Al Hoceima in the northern Rif mountains that killed over 600 people.

Some houses had collapsed in Marrakech’s tightly packed old city and people were working hard by hand to clear away debris while they waited for heavy equipment, said resident Id Wazziz Hassan.

Footage of the medieval city wall showed large cracks in one section and parts that had collapsed and debris strewn across the street.

Another Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, said he saw ambulances leaving the old city and that many building facades were damaged. He said that people are scared and are staying out due to the fear of another earthquake.

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“The chandelier fell from the ceiling and I ran outside. I am still on the street with my children and we are scared,” said Houda Hafsi, 43, in Marrakech.

Dalila Faheem, another woman who was there, said her house had developed cracks and her furniture was damaged. She said, “Luckily I haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

According to Reuters witnesses, people also fled their homes in Rabat, some 350 km (220 miles) north of Eghil, and in the coastal town of Imsoune, some 180 km west of it, fearing strong quakes.

In Casablanca, some 250 km north of Eghil, people who had spent the night on the streets were too scared to return to their homes.

Resident Mohammad Takafi said, “The house shook violently, everyone was scared.” “I thought it was only my house that was shaking because it is fragile and old. I heard people screaming, everyone went out of their houses.”

Videos shared on social media in the immediate aftermath of the quake, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed people running out of a shopping center, restaurants and apartment buildings in fear and gathering outside.