An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 has struck central Morocco, killing at least 296 people, the country’s interior ministry says.

The quake struck at 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT). There was a 4.9 aftershock 19 minutes later.

The epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh, at a depth of 18.5km, the US Geological Survey said.

These pictures broadcast on state media show the damage in Marrakesh afterwards.