KUALA LUMPUR, 10 Sept — Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir will contact his counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco Nasser Bourita to get the latest information about the earthquake that hit the country on Friday and then offer the necessary form of assistance.
According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) on Sunday, Zambry said he had also contacted the Malaysian Ambassador to Morocco, Datuk Astanah Abdul Aziz to obtain information on the latest developments on the incident.
“He informed me that until now, there are no reports involving Malaysians. All the Malaysians who have been contacted so far are safe,” according to the statement.
Zambry also expressed his sympathy and condolences to all the victims involved in the earthquake disaster.
Earlier, Wisma Putra in a statement on Saturday said no Malaysians were reported to have been affected by the major earthquake that struck Morocco including Al Haouz and Marrakesh late on Friday.
The Malaysian Embassy in Rabat is also closely monitoring the current development which is expected to increase the number of deaths of victims who are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Malaysians in Morocco are advised to remain vigilant and follow the latest developments and advice issued by the local authorities.
Malaysians are also encouraged to register with the Malaysian embassy by contacting the mission at the address 307, Rue Bani Yider Souissi 10000, Rabat, and via telephone at (+212) 5 37 65 83 24/ (+212) 6 73 29 14 24 or via email at mwrabat@kln.gov.my, added the statement.
According to the latest update issued by Anadolu Agency citing the Ministry of Interior of Morocco, at least 2,012 people have been killed and 2,059 injured as a result of the powerful earthquake.
The number of injured includes 1,404 critical cases.
Deaths from tremors measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale occurred in various areas including Taroudant, Chichaoua, Tiznit, Marrakech, Azilal, Agadir, Casablanca and Youssoufia.