The UK will help Morocco "in whatever way we can", Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said.

"Devastating news of a substantial earthquake just outside Marrakesh, Morocco," he said on X, external, formerly known as Twitter.

"The UK is continuing to support British nationals in the region.

"We stand ready to help our Moroccan friends in whatever way we can," he added.

• The latest travel advice from the Foreign Office for Morocco is here, external

We have a more detailed update from the Moroccan interior ministry about the situation on the ground.

Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit had this to say at a news briefing in Rabat:

• Many of the victims are believed to be in remote areas
• The quake struck a sparsely populated region in the Atlas Mountains
• There are reports of families trapped under the rubble of their homes
• Hospitals in Marrakesh have seen an influx of injured people and authorities have called on residents to donate blood
• The Moroccan authorities, military and emergency services are working to help those affected by the earthquake, Laftit said
• The earthquake also resulted in some material losses, he added, including the collapse of a number of homes and other buildings
• The armed forces, local authorities, security services and civil protection in all the affected regions continue to mobilise and harness all means and capabilities to provide the necessary assistance and evaluate the damage, the minister added

Dust can be seen floating around the minaret of the 850-year-old Kutubiyya mosque in Marrakesh after last night's earthquake hit the city.

The video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, prompted fears it could collapse.

Image source, AFP

People in towns across Morocco have spent the night sitting outside their homes after the earthquake, a British journalist living in the country says.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Martin Jay said: "There were reports coming through on Moroccan media warning people not to go back into their homes," he said.

"This was a nationwide message that was put out by the authorities.

"So you have this weird evening [in] almost every single town in Morocco, [where] most people are sitting on the ground outside of their houses or apartment blocks, because they were afraid of the second earthquake which they predicted would come two hours later."

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh.

The people who died were in Marrakesh and several areas to the south, the interior ministry said.

They were in the provinces and municipalities of al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.

Tremors were also said to have been felt in the capital Rabat, some 350km away, as well as in the cities of Casablanca and Essaouira.

The quake was also felt in neighbouring Algeria, but officials said it had not caused any damage or casualties.

World leaders have been waking up to news of the earthquake in Morocco this morning, and are offering their condolences.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he is "devastated" by the news, and added his country stood "ready to help with first aid".

In a statement from the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin offered his own condolences, saying Russia shared "the pain and the mourning of the friendly Moroccan people".

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote: "All my solidarity and support to the people of Morocco in the wake of this terrible earthquake," on X, formerly Twitter.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan also offered his condolences to the Moroccan people, adding his country - which itself was hit by a large earthquake earlier this year - was ready to offer support.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his solidarity with Morocco, sending his "deepest condolences" to Morocco.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "gave instructions to provide all necessary assistance to the Moroccan people", according to a press release from his office.

And the African Union expressed its "great pain" over the "tragic consequences" of the quake.

People were forced to sleep on the streets of Marrakesh after a deadly 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Moroccan city.

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Mohamed Taha
BBC Arabic

The number of casualties is expected to rise still further after the earthquake which is said to have hit a third of the country.

Reports say there are big difficulties in reaching remote villages in the Atlas Mountains which were hit severely by the earthquake.

It may take days before rescuers are able to reach those villages which are mainly made up of old buildings.

Even people in the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco and in Algeria, its eastern neighbour, say they felt the quake.

We have seen scenes of shocked people fleeing their homes and escaping on to the streets of Marrakesh.

And we have heard that the ancient walls of the city have been affected by the quake too.

Image source, Getty Images

Moroccan reporter Aida Alami grew up in Marrakesh and has been in touch with her parents who are there. She says the earthquake was totally unexpected

"It's not a country where people know what to do in case of earthquakes and just people were outside. They were really worried about aftershocks and they didn't know what to do and no-one was telling them what to do," she told the BBC.

"Some of the shocking images we saw this morning [are of] the ancient walls that are around the old city that everyone who has been to Marrakesh has walked along.

"And we're seeing rubbles and we're seeing a lot of destruction inside. These are very old buildings, they're probably not built solidly enough.

We now have confirmation that 632 people died and 329 were injured, according to an update by the Moroccan interior ministry, quoted by the AFP news agency.

According to the ministry, of those injured, 51 were in a critical condition after the earthquake.

Lorella Palmer, a British tourist on holiday in Marrakesh, described what happened when the quake hit.

"The room just started shaking," she told BBC News.

She felt like "there was someone hoovering the walls in the room next to ours", she added.

"I think your brain doesn't register straight away what is happening until the picture frames and the bed start shaking."

Morocco TV says the number of deaths in the quake has reached 632, and that 329 people were injured, according to Reuters news agency.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

Earlier we quoted residents of Marrakesh as saying there had been power cuts following the quake.

This appears to have impacted the internet too, with monitoring service NetBlocks reporting , externala "disruption to... connectivity" in the city overnight.

It attributes this to those same power cuts.

What's becoming clear is the panic that gripped many Moroccans after the earthquake struck at night.

Frenchman Michael Bizet told the AFP news agency he was in bed when the disaster hit.

"It was total chaos, a real catastrophe, madness."

One woman, Dalila Fahem, told Reuters: "Fortunately I hadn't gone to sleep yet." She said her house had been damaged.

Many frightened residents of Marrakesh spent the night outside.

These pictures show them wrapped in blankets in a city square.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

The German leader has joined his Indian counterpart in acknowledging the tragedy.

Posting on X, external, Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls the earthquake "devastating" and says his thoughts are with the victims.

"Our sympathy goes out to all those affected by this natural disaster," writes Scholz, who is attending the G20 summit in India this weekend.

Image source, Reuters

More details are emerging on this deadly natural disaster, but here's a quick recap of what's known so far.

• At least 296 people have died, according to a preliminary report from Morocco's interior ministry
• The powerful quake was measured at 6.8 magnitude, and its impact was felt in cities across Morocco
• It struck just after 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT) at a shallow depth, around 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh
• Marrakesh - a historic city much loved by tourists - appears to have been badly hit, with images emerging of rubble in the streets and people forced to camp out in the open. There were also power cuts
• People are said to have been trapped under ruined buildings, and local hospitals have reportedly experienced an influx of arrivals
• The Indian and German leaders are among those expressing condolences for the victims

Mohamed Taha
BBC Arabic

The earthquake happened just after 23:00 local time. Sunrise in Morocco will be in about two hours, and when the sun comes out, we may see more casualties in the affected areas.

We are talking about areas where the houses are old. Some of these buildings have cultural heritage.

And some of these places are also touristic areas like Marrakesh. There's a danger that we may see tourists affected by this powerful earthquake.

These images, broadcast on state-run TV, show the damage in Marrakesh after Friday night's quake.