Montreal councillor shaken after Morocco earthquake, as Canadians try to reach family

A Montreal city councillor in Marrakech, Morocco says he's safe but shaken following a powerful earthquake Friday that killed more than 1,300 people in the North African country.

A Montreal city councillor in Marrakech, Morocco says he's safe but shaken following a powerful earthquake Friday that killed more than 1,300 people in the North African country.

Serge Sasseville is in Morocco on vacation. He said he was just outside central Marrakech at the time of the quake.

"People were drinking and eating and everybody was having fun, but suddenly ... the nightmare began," Sasseville said on the phone from his hotel room in the inland city. "I thought that somebody was making a joke and taking the carpet from under my seat because it was like the ground was swept from under my feet."

"It was absolutely incredible," he added.

He said he saw damaged buildings and people gathering in parks and school yards as he made his way back to his hotel downtown early Saturday morning. The neighbourhood around his hotel was not extensively damaged.

The quake's epicentre was about 70 kilometres southwest of Marrakech, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, a government agency that measures seismic activity. It struck at 11:11 p.m. local time.

Sasseville said people around him are safe, but "still shaken."