Moroccan authorities criticized for slow response to earthquake

There’s been criticism in Morocco of the speed of the official response to Friday’s earthquake, which is now known to have killed more than 2,800 people.

Heavy lifting equipment has begun to arrive in remote regions of the Atlas mountains, which have been the hardest-hit.

But in many areas villagers have themselves been digging through the rubble of collapsed homes.

A human rights activist in Rabat, Maati Monjib, is quoted by the BBC as saying that he didn’t understand why the Moroccan government hadn’t broadened its appeal for outside help.

The authorities have accepted emergency aid from four countries – Britain, Spain, Qatar and the UAE.