Earthquake in Morocco wreaks havoc, around 2500 people died, 2476 injured

Survivors with shovels worked alongside bulldozers to dig through remote Moroccan villages flattened by a monstrous earthquake, as hope dwindled of finding people alive under wood-and-dirt homes that pancaked into rubble.

Rescuers overseas waited for Morocco to let them help.

Around 2,500 were killed when the quake struck late Friday.

A French aid group that specializes in locating people trapped under debris said it is withdrawing an offer to send a nine-person search-and-rescue team after waiting without success for a green light from Morocco to deploy.

Because homes in quake-hit areas were often made of mud bricks with roofs of wood, stone and clay, Rescuers Without Borders' founder told says that the hope of finding survivors at this point is slim.