Moroccan soldiers and aid teams battle to reach remote, quake-hit towns as toll rises past 2,400

Moroccan soldiers and aid teams in trucks and helicopters are battling to reach remote mountain towns devastated by a monstrous earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people. Survivors are desperate for help to find loved ones feared trapped under the rubble. Moroccan officials have so far accepted government-offered aid from just four countries: Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates. Some foreign aid teams said they were awaiting permission to deploy. Morocco’s Interior Ministry says officials want to avoid a lack of coordination that “would be counterproductive.” The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake, made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth.