More than 2,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. The toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages to reach hard-hit remote areas to find survivors.

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The 6.8-magnitude quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and the ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns. At least 2,012 people died in the quake, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicentre, Morocco's Interior Ministry reported Saturday night. At least 2,059 more people were injured — 1,404 critically.