According to the latest provisional assessment, the earthquake which hit Morocco on the night of September 8 to 9, 2023 would have caused 2,901 dead and 5,530 injured. This is information from the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior relayed by The world, Tuesday September 12, 2023 in the afternoon. More than 72 hours after the tragedy that struck the kingdom, rescuers continue their hard work searching for survivors in the rubble, although the chances of finding any are diminishing by the hour. This Tuesday, September 12, 2023, King Mohammed VI went to a hospital in Marrakech, to inquire about the state of health of the victims as well as to donate blood. A monarch on the ground, after a long silence, who was strongly criticized following the tragedy. And for good reason ! According to information from Parisian Saturday September 9, 2023, King Mohammed VI was in France at the time of the earthquake. The one who owns a private hotel in the French capital was obviously there for health reasons, since September 1, 2023. In 2018, he had surgery for sarcoidosis, an immune disease which puts the heart at risk, in a Parisian clinic.
No official confirmation from France or Morocco
For now, neither the French nor the Moroccan authorities have confirmed that the king was in France at the time of tragedy. Asked about the presence of the Moroccan king in Paris at the time of the earthquake, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin preferred not to answer, as reported franceinfo on September 11, 2023. Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, for her part, was cautious by stating: “I believe he was in our country, that he came back on Saturday and chaired a crisis meeting with his ministers around him and took the necessary decisions.” Indeed, an official press release from the Moroccan Royal Cabinet released a photo of Mohammed VI, in the middle of a work session, Saturday September 9, 2023 in the afternoon. The press release specifies that the king has given his instructions and that a three-day national mourning has been decreed in honor of the victims, during which all flags on public buildings will be flown at half-mast. Measures that took too long to come, according to many Internet users on social networks. Indeed, from the first hours following the tragedy, many leaders showed their support for the victims and offered their humanitarian aid, like the United States, France and Algeria.