Spain sends 56 rescuers to Morocco as earthquake death toll rises to over 2,000

An A400 military plane took off from a base in the northeastern city of Zaragoza with the team bound for Marrakesh to ‘help in the search and rescue of survivors of the devastating earthquake suffered in our neighbouring country’, the ministry said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The rescuers belong to Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME), a body of the armed forces that was created to intervene quickly in emergency situations such as forest fires, floods and earthquakes.

A UME unit was sent to Turkey in February following a devastating earthquake and helped rescue six people, including a mother and two children, according to Spain’s defence ministry. ALSO READ: Spain joins search & rescue teams, as earthquake death toll rises in Turkey & Syria.

The strongest-ever earthquake to hit Morocco has now killed at least 2,012 people and injured a further 2,000, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier on Sunday Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Madrid would send aid to Morocco after receiving a formal request.

‘It is a sign of Spanish solidarity and of the sense of friendship which unites the people of Spain with the people of Morocco,’ he said during an interview with Catalunya Radio, adding he received a call from his Moroccan counterpart requesting the aid in the early hours of Sunday.

‘It will be as much aid as Morocco needs, at first what we are setting in motion are search and rescue teams because it is urgent to try to find the greatest number of people alive to save them. When it is time for reconstruction, Spanish aid will also be present,’ he said.

Other countries, including the United States and France, have also pledged humanitarian aid, but Morocco would first need to formally request assistance, a step required before foreign crews can deploy.

Tras la llegada🛬 a Marrakech-Menara los componentes del equipo @UMEgob se dirigen a la zona asignada en primera instancia, la localidad de Talat N'Yaaqoub pic.twitter.com/PhNgVTlxyt

— UME (@UMEgob) September 10, 2023

Un equipo USAR de la @UMEgob, compuesto por 56 militares y 4 perros, ha despegado hoy desde la Base Aérea de Zaragoza hacia Marrakech, en un A400 del @EjercitoAire, para colaborar en la búsqueda y rescate de supervivientes del devastador terremoto sufrido en país vecino,… pic.twitter.com/ZSe3LpBYlc

— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) September 10, 2023