Villagers bury the dead in difficult-to-reach quake epicentre

Residents of isolated areas outside Marrakech have begun to bury their dead and count their losses as rescue workers struggle to reach remote villages in the epicentre of the earthquake.

In the Moulay Brahim village, some 50km south of Marrakech, the first moments of the powerful earthquake felt like an apocalypse, one resident said. 

"We could hear rocks falling and people screaming. We didn't know what was happening. We thought it was the day of judgement," the resident, who did not give a name, told AFP. 

"I began running and evacuated my four children to the nearby land. I went back to evacuate my wife and then went to my parent's house to evacuate them along with my aunt. When I got there, I found them covered with dust. Thank God they did not die," he added.

The mountainous village is located in the al-Haouz province, the epicentre of the quake and the hardest-hit area.

Of the initial 820 death toll, nearly half were recorded in Haouz alone.

However, the extent of the casualties is not fully known yet, as the rugged nature of the affected areas makes them harder to reach.

Nasser Jabour, director of the country's National Institute of Geophysics, told Al Jazeera that rockslides after the earthquake in some areas have blocked roads to villages and slowed down rescue operations. 

The slower it is to reach affected areas the harder it becomes to find people trapped under rubble alive. 

Experts say after the first critical 72 hours, chances of finding survivors dwindle.

Meanwhile, residents of Moulay Brahim began the burial of earthquake victims as the search for other survivors continued.

Men were seen lining up bodies before performing burial prayers for them, as survivors embraced each other and mourned their loved ones.

At least 40 people from the village have died so far, according to initial reports. 

"May God have mercy on the deceased and grant us patience," said a resident inspecting the damage in one house in the village.