BEIJING: China is following closely the devastating earthquake in Morocco and stands ready to continue providing assistance to the quake-hit nation in light of its needs to the best of its capability, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday.
Mao Ning said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a sympathy message to Moroccan King Mohammed VI, extending deep condolences to the victims and sincerest sympathies to the families of the deaths and the wounded.
President Xi also expressed his belief that Morocco people will overcome the impacts of calamity and rebuild their homes at an early date, the spokesperson added.
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit southern areas of the North African country at 11 p.m. Friday local time. The epicenter was close to the town of Ighil in Al Haouz province, roughly seventy kilometers south of the major city of Marrakech.
Casualties in Morocco Earthquake
At least 2,012 people have died and more than 2,059 wounded in the disaster, according to the local authorities on Sunday morning. Morocco has declared 3 days of national mourning. The toll is likely to rise as rescuers struggle to reach hard-hit remote parts.
The spokesperson said that the Red Cross Society of China immediately announced to provide the Moroccan Red Crescent emergency humanitarian aid of 200,000 dollars in cash.
The China International Development Cooperation Agency also announced that it will provide emergency humanitarian aid, she added.
A spokesperson for CIDCA, Xu Wei said that they are willing to provide emergency humanitarian aid according to the needs of the victims.
Chinese medical personnel in Morocco were among the first to go to the rescue, braving the aftershocks and operating on a number of seriously ill patients.
