Doha News has joined the Lekhwiya team on the ground in Morocco for the rescue mission. 

Qatar’s Lekhwiya team embarked on a search and rescue mission in earthquake-stricken Morocco on Sunday, joining international groups in a race against time in search for life under the rubble.

A total of four Emiri Air Force flights departed the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Monday, sending a total of 81 personnel from the search and rescue team. 

The jets also transported at least nine vehicles, including rescue trucks, from the military post to Marrakesh, the worst hit city. Other flights have also flown from the country since Saturday, carrying urgent aid to the earthquake-struck country.

The Qatari efforts came under an air bridge extended by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Saturday, just hours after the fatal 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has thanked Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and the United Kingdom for dispatching vital aid to the country.

The quake had initially hit the historic city of Marrakesh on Friday evening, killing at least 2,122 while injuring at least 2,421 others, as per figures shared by the Moroccan government on Sunday.

A number of aftershocks have followed the deadly earthquake across different Moroccan cities two days on.

Hundreds have been sleeping in the streets as a result of the catastrophic damage caused by the earthquake, which Morocco has officially declared as the “most violent” to ever occur in the country in a century.

Meanwhile, families remain gathered around the rubble in the Atlas Mountains eagerly waiting to learn about the fate of their loved ones.

Doha News has joined the Lekhwiya team on the ground in Morocco for the rescue mission. 

More to follow.