Ibrahim Wahdouch lost two young daughters and two other family members. Most of the destruction and deaths were in Al Haouz province in the High Atlas Mountains, where steep and winding roads became clogged with rubble leaving villagers to fend for themselves. The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people were affected by the magnitude 6.8 quake, which was made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth. “People are generally suffocated by the dust,” Fraisse said. Homes crumbled into dust and debris, choking out the air pockets that might allow some people to survive for days under rubble. Rescuers Without Borders’ founder Arnaud Fraisse told The Associated Press he is withdrawing the organization’s offer to send nine people to Morocco because “our role is not to find bodies.” The leader of one of several rescue teams waiting across Europe said Moroccan authorities may remember the chaos that unfolded after a smaller quake in 2004, when international teams overwhelmed the airport and the damaged roads into the hardest hit areas. That approach differs from the one taken by the government in Turkey, which made an international appeal for help in the hours following a massive quake earlier this year. Officials say they want to avoid a lack of coordination that “would be counterproductive.” ![]() So far, Moroccan officials have accepted government aid from approved non-governmental organizations and just four countries - Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.
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