After the magnitude 6.8 earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 2,012 people and injured 2,059 others while also leaving many homeless, authorities on Saturday proclaimed three days of national mourning in the country

According to a statement from the military, King Mohammed VI of Morocco directed the armed forces to deploy specialized search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital

Historic structures in Marrakesh, the closest city to the epicentre, were damaged by the earthquake that shook Morocco`s High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, but the majority of casualties were recorded in mountainous regions to the south in the Al-Haouz and Taroudant provinces, reported Al Jazeera

Meanwhile, the efforts to clear roads for search and rescue operations are underway

The earthquake took place at 03:41:01 (UTC+05:30) at a depth of 18.5 km. The magnitude of the earthquake caused pulses to travel from Sidi Ifni in the south to Rabat in the north and beyond