The Moroccan Ministry of Interior announced today, Monday, that the death toll from the Morocco earthquake has risen to 2,497 dead and 2,476 injured.

The ministry reported in its statement that the number of deaths reached 1,452 in the Al-Haouz region, 764 in the Taroudant region, 202 in the Chichaoua region, and 18 in the Marrakech region.

While no new deaths were recorded in the provinces and regions of Ouarzazate, Azilal, Agadir Ida Ou Tanane, Greater Casablanca, Youssefiyah, and Tinghir, public authorities continue their efforts to rescue and evacuate the injured and take care of the victims, mobilizing all necessary resources to address the aftermath of this painful tragedy.

The ministry added that search and rescue teams are still continuing their operations to find survivors, transport the injured, and provide the required medical assistance, as teams from Spain, the UAE, Qatar, and the United Kingdom have arrived to assist in the rescue operations.

Ros Godden, the head of the British rescue team, who arrived early Monday morning at Marrakech International Airport in Morocco to contribute to the relief efforts led by Moroccan authorities following the "Al-Haouz earthquake," confirmed that his team would work closely with Moroccan coordination teams and provide full support to rescue as many people as possible.

Godden expressed his heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims and the Moroccan people in a press statement after two A400M aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force landed, stating: "We are here in Morocco to support the ongoing relief efforts," adding, "We are in constant communication with our Moroccan colleagues who are making tremendous efforts."

For his part, the UK ambassador to Morocco, Simon Martin, praised the ongoing "heroic" search and rescue efforts in Morocco, adding, "It is an honor to have the opportunity to support these efforts with the arrival of a British search and rescue team, which will work very closely with the Moroccan coordination authorities."

The British ambassador to Morocco added: "This demonstrates the strength of the relationships between our two countries."

It is worth noting that search and rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Qatar are currently assisting Moroccan rescue teams in the affected areas.

Responses to offers of support and assistance from various countries are based on a careful assessment of field needs by the Moroccan authorities.

For his part, the leader of the Qatari rescue team, Major Khaled Abdullah Al-Hamidi, confirmed that the team's presence came after prior coordination and communication with the Moroccan side.

Al-Hamidi explained in a press statement that the members of the Qatari team would work as assistants to the Moroccan crews at two sites based on what was agreed upon through communication and coordination channels with the Moroccan side.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, African Union President Azali Assoumani, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva expressed their solidarity with Morocco following the devastating earthquake that struck the country, resulting in thousands of dead and injured.

This came in a joint statement published on the official website of the European Commission a few hours ago, issued by these parties after the conclusion of the G20 Summit in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in which the statement noted that in the aftermath of the earthquake on September 9, we express our full solidarity with the authorities and the Moroccan people, and we offer our condolences to the families of the victims.

The statement added that we also express our desire to support Morocco in the best way possible. We have been and remain committed partners to Morocco, as we support the authorities in their efforts to build an inclusive and resilient economy with strong institutions.

The statement continued that this strength will serve the Moroccan people well as they recover from the devastation caused by the earthquake. We, along with all our international partners, stand by Morocco to provide all necessary support for any urgent financial needs in the short term and for reconstruction efforts.

The parties to the statement mentioned that to achieve this goal, we will coordinate our tools and technical and financial assistance to help the Moroccan people overcome this terrible tragedy.

On another front, the violent earthquake in Morocco came as a major surprise, perplexing geologists after it struck on the night of Friday, September 9, with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale in the Al-Haouz region southwest of Marrakech. French seismologist at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Grenoble, Florent Brenguier, stated that "it is surprising to have such a large earthquake in this area."

This earthquake was felt in areas of Algeria, Spain, and Portugal, and so far, it has resulted in more than 2,000 deaths according to preliminary assessments, causing widespread destruction of buildings and forcing residents to flee their homes, creating panic among the residents of the Al-Haouz region, which is considered "rare," according to statements made by the French expert to the press.