Idriss found the bodies of both his mother and sister under piles of rubble after digging with his bare hands
A survivor of Morocco’s strongest earthquake in over a century has detailed the moment he pulled his 12-year-old sister’s body from the rubble after his village was decimated.
Idriss told ITV News’ Sangita Lal he had been digging through the night to find his sister, Nadia, and their mother, and finally saw his young sibling’s hand.
“I just see the hand of my sister… Do you know how I felt when I found my sister? She was under the ground, I see her back,” he said.
“She wasn’t just my sister, she was my friend, my everything. I can’t accept it.”
‘She was my everything,’ Idriss said of his sister, Nadia, who died in the earthquake
In Idriss’ village, near the earthquake’s epicentre, 240 houses no longer exist.
His mother and sister are now buried in mass graves, where Idriss explains there are around 20 bodies under each mound.
The devastating 6.8 magnitude quake hit the rural Al Haouz region on Friday, 44 miles south of Marrakesh, killing 1,351 in the area alone.
Rescuers from Morocco, Spain, aid groups, and 60 teams from the UK are desperately searching for survivors.
They are expected to find more casualties as they reach the hard-hit remote mountain areas in trucks and helicopters today.
State television reported the number of injured has risen to at least 2,501 people.
Flags were lowered across Morocco, as King Mohammed VI ordered three days of national mourning starting Sunday.
It is estimated that 300,000 people have been affected, according to The United Nations, as aid offers have poured in from around the world.
Those left homeless, or fearing more aftershocks, have slept outside in the streets of the ancient city of Marrakech or under makeshift canopies in devastated Atlas Mountain towns like Moulay Brahim.
“I was asleep when the earthquake struck. I could not escape because the roof fell on me,” said resident Fatna Bechar.
“I was trapped. I was saved by my neighbours who cleared the rubble with their bare hands.
“Now, I am living with them in their house because mine was completely destroyed.”
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