CNN staff member Benjamin Brown, who was in Marrakech when the quake took place, said it took a while for people in the vicinity to register what was happening.
He said he and some others had left their hotel after feeling the tremors and headed for open land. At first, he said, most people – including some still in their pajamas – seemed calm.
“And then it kicked in a couple minutes later, screaming began,” he recalled.
Panic sank in when people began noticing their injuries, said Brown, who spoke by phone to CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
“Some of them appeared to have quite serious head injuries with a lot of blood, actually so bad to an extent where at least in one instance an ambulance had to turn away an injured woman because they were at full capacity,” he said.
Many people had subsequently decided to camp out for the night, Brown said.
“Absolutely shocking scene for Marrakech,” he added.
There were many partially destroyed buildings, some with their roofs coming off and glass windows shattered, Brown said, and parts of the historic walls of Marrakesh were crumbling.
