'Like a scene from a movie'

Survivors of the earthquake described scenes of panic and chaos when they felt the earth shaking around 11pm local time (10pm GMT) on Friday.

"We heard a loud noise and rumbling from the ground," Abdelhamid, an eyewitness, told Middle East Eye. 

"People couldn't understand what was happening until the ground started shaking and buildings began to collapse."

The Marrakech resident said people spent the night in cars and on the streets, primarily in parking areas and large squares, avoiding large buildings. 

Lina, another eyewitness, said the first 20 seconds when the earthquake hit looked like a "scene from movie". 

"We were lucky to live on the top floor [fourth floor]. We couldn't even walk because the ground was shaking heavily. We ran down the stairs and then set up tents outside," she told MEE.

She added that electricity and the network were down, leaving many families unable to contact each other.

Faisal Baddour, a state engineer, told AFP that he felt the force and intensity of this earthquake almost three times in his building.

"People went out into the street just after this total panic, and there are families who are still sleeping outside because we were so scared of the force of this earthquake," Baddour said. 

"It was as if a train was passing close to our houses, that's the feeling we had."

Moulay Hafid Mouddan, a civil servant, said he was taking a walk with his wife after their dinner when they felt the tremor under their feet.

"My wife thought it was a helicopter or something, but I told her it was an earthquake," Mouddan told AFP.

"Suddenly people were running in all directions in the streets."