UPDATE: Death toll from Moroccan earthquake crosses 600

Colombo (News 1st) - UPDATE: The death toll from the powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Morocco crossed 600, as dawn broke and rescuers began pulling bodies out of the rubble, Moroccan state TV said. The toll is likely to rise further.

The quake occurred near the city of Marrakesh on Friday night, toppling buildings and sending millions scrambling out of their homes in the darkness.

The tremor occurred at 11:11 pm Morocco time when most people were asleep. The US Geological Survey said that the quake's epicenter was 72 km northeast of Marrakesh at a depth of 18.5 km.

It is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Morocco, a country in North Africa that borders the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea just south of Spain.