Prime Minister Plenković extends condolences after devastating earthquake in Morocco

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed his condolences on Saturday on the tragic consequences of the devastating earthquake that hit Morocco late Friday evening and said that Croatia is ready to send aid.
 
“We sympathise with the Moroccan people who were hit by a devastating earthquake last night that claimed many lives. Our thoughts are with the injured, to whom we wish a speedy recovery,” Plenković wrote on the X platform.
 
“Croatia is ready to send help,” he added.
 
A powerful earthquake in Morocco has killed at least 632 people and injured hundreds more, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes in the country's deadliest tremor since at least 2004.
 
Grlić Radman: All Croatian citizens in Morocco are fine, one lightly injured in earthquake
 
According to the information so far, no Croatian citizens were killed in the catastrophic earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday evening, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman said on Saturday, adding that only one person was slightly injured.
 
“There are 30 Croatian citizens permanently residing in Morocco, and we also know about 11 tourists who were near the epicenter - they are all fine, as well as five students who luckily went to Casablanca two days before the earthquake, and they are safe too,” the Croatian foreign minister said in a statement.
 
“We only have information that one Croatian citizen was slightly injured, meaning that he was not hospitalised, and suffered a minor hand injury,” the minister added.
 
According to the latest data, more than 800 people were killed, hundreds were injured, and a large number of buildings were destroyed in the devastating earthquake in the High Atlas region, about seventy kilometers southwest of Marrakesh.
 
“We are still trying to determine the identity of that person. This is all we have so far,” Grlić Radman said.
 
He added that the embassy had opened a hotline due to a large number of calls from parents, as these are mostly young tourists and students, but that no Croatian citizens in Morocco had requested help yet.
 
The minister underscored that Croatia, which had already shown its solidarity in the past, will see how it can help Morocco.
 
Investigation in Greece nearing end
 
Commenting on the Croatian football fans detained in Greece, Grlić Radman said that according to information available to him, the investigation launched after the fight between fans of the AEK and Dinamo football clubs in August was nearing the end.
 
The minister said that it was confirmed that those in the 21 prisons where they were placed “are safe and have conditions in accordance with usual standards.”
 
“As for the investigation, I think it is nearing completion. We expect that it will be resolved in the coming period. It will not take too long, but it will be a few weeks, as the Greek authorities have said,” Grlić Radman added.
 
He emphasised that the focus is on establishing the identity of the perpetrator of the murder, adding that 90 percent of those arrested have a clean record.
 
“We need to be a little more patient,” he added.
 
Text: Hina/MVEP

Press releases