hello again, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. i m fredricka whitfield. destruction everywhere, that s how one survivor describes the aftermath of a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck morocco friday, killing more than 1,000 people. it was the strongest to hit the area in over a century. rescuers are now struggling to access the hardest-hit areas after roads were damaged and we re seeing images of patients waiting outside hospitals, residents have been sleeping on the streets, fearing for the intense aftershocks. i want to bring in cnn senior international correspondent ben wedeman for more. these first few hours, you mentioned the first 72 hours are critical in trying to locate survivors. what are you learning about the kind of rescue efforts that actually can happen, given so many roads and thoroughfares are impassable? keep in mind that the epicenter of this earthquake which happened at 11:15 friday evening local time was 45 miles southwest of marrake
after a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake, after it struck friday night. its epicenter, located in the high atlas mountains, just southwest of marakesh, the quake was the strongest to hit the historic tourist area in over a century. and rescuers are now struggling to access the hardest-hit areas, after roads of course were damaged. one witness said they re hoping for miracles from the rubble. more than 700 people were injured in the quake and are in critical condition. intense aftershocks have hit the area. experts expect the death toll to rise. i heard people screaming. everyone went out of their houses, the street is full of people, and women screaming, that s what happened. and even now, people can t go back home, because they re still afraid. i want to bring in now cnn senior international correspondent ben wedeman for more on this. ben, the destruction is devastating. i mean what are emergency crews up against, especially when you have an earthquake of this mag tuld,
they reportedly made. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, reports. the finishing line is in sight. we ve had the manifestos, the pitches and promises. now the campaigns are all about persuading supporters to get out and vote. change is possible. most of all, they need to be convinced. to vote for it because change doesn t happen unless you vote for it. labour s leader, sir keir starmer, has been rallying his party at an event in london this evening. there is a buzz within labour, confident but terrified of complacency, too far ahead in the opinion polls, but knowing it still needs to mobilise the party s voters. rishi sunak has been on the stump tonight too, at a temple in west london. the conservatives have spent the last few weeks defending the seats they currently hold, and warning voters not to risk a change of government. education, hard work, family. those are my values. those are your values. those are conservative values. still having more fun than any other lead
most of all, they need to be convinced. to vote for it because change doesn t happen unless you vote for it. labour s leader, sir keir starmer, has been rallying his party at an event in london this evening. there is a buzz within labour, confident but terrified of complacency, too far ahead in the opinion polls, but knowing it still needs to mobilize the party s voters. rishi sunak has been on the stump tonight too, at a temple in west london. the conservatives have spent the last few weeks defending the seats they currently hold, and warning voters not to risk a change of government. education, hard work, family. those are my values. those are your values. those are conservative values. still having more fun than any other leader on the campaign trail, the liberal democrats ed davey began his final tour of the country in scotland. we re here to win as many seats as we can, because if we have lots of liberal democrat mps in the next parliament, we will be able to get changes