Algeria has expressed its “most sincere” condolences to the Moroccan people amid a violent earthquake that caused at least 820 deaths on Friday September 8, in th evening. 

A statement by the Foreign ministry published Saturday also said that “Algeria is following with deep consternation and sadness the repercussions” of the earthquake that hit several regions in the neighboring kingdom. 

At least 820 people died and several thousand others were injured in the deadliest earthquake to hit Morocco in decades. Many victims are stuck under the rubble of fallen buildings, according to local media.

At 11:11 pm on Friday, the ground shook in the region of Al Haouz in the south of the country. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake was felt as far as Portugal, Algeria and Spain. 

Huge damage was registered in the city of Marrakech and its surroundings, as well as in other regions in Morocco. 

Videos online have shown panicked residents running out of buildings or on the streets when the quake hit. Countless people have spent the night outside fearing aftershock quakes, according to local media. 

It is the deadliest earthquake to hit Morocco since 1969. That year, a devastating earthquake of a magnitude of 5.8 hit the region of Agadir on the Atlantic coast, killing between 12000 and 15000 people.