President Akufo-Addo has commiserated with families of victims of an earthquake in Morocco which has so far been reported to have claimed over 2,000 lives.

In a tweet on Saturday afternoon's unfortunate event, the President said Ghanaians are praying for the victims and wish them a speedy recovery.

"On behalf of the people of Ghana, I extend my deepest condolences to King Mohammed VI and to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Morocco on the tragedy which has been occasioned by Friday’s earthquake and has claimed the lives of thousands.

"We pray for the families of the victims and wish the injured speedy recovery. Morocco has a friend in Ghana, and she can count on our support in these difficult times," he said.

Everything came down on them

The magnitude 6.8 quake hit many areas on Friday night and rescuers are scrambling to find survivors under the rubble after a huge earthquake which killed more than 2,000 people.

The epicentre was in a remote mountainous region southwest of Marrakesh, where entire villages have been flattened.

The Moroccan army has cleared one of the main roads to the worst-affected areas, allowing vital assistance to reach people.

According to the BBC, one of its reporters, Nick Beake reached one village where he found an elderly woman wailing after 18 bodies were recovered in a single place.

There was also significant damage in the popular tourist city of Marrakesh, and tremors were felt in the capital Rabat and in Casablanca

Fearing aftershocks, many Moroccans have opted to stay outdoors for a second night, sleeping on the streets.

Aid pledged from countries and groups

Several countries have already offered aid to Morocco including Italy, Spain, France and the US.

The International Red Cross has warned though that it could take potentially years to repair the devastated villages and old city centres.

"We are counting on a response that will take months if not years," said Hossam Elsharkawi, the organisation's Middle East and North Africa director.

The Red Cross has already pledged to release one million Swiss francs (£900,000; $1.1 million) from the organisation's Disaster Response Emergency Fund to support the mission.

Unesco to help Morocco assess cultural damage

The UN cultural agency Unesco says it will help Morocco assess damage to heritage sites and work out a repair strategy.

Marrakesh's old city - which was heavily affected by Friday's earthquake - is a Unesco World Heritage site.

Unesco's regional head Eric Falt said it was necessary to plan for the reconstruction of damaged cultural assets.

Marrakesh is the main gateway for tourism into Morocco. The city was expected to host 13 million visitors in 2023 - as many as it did in the years before the Covid pandemic.