A nation's grief is etched on the faces of those who've lost everything

DESPAIR, disbelief and horror were everywhere among the ruined buildings and debris-strewn streets of Morocco yesterday.

- KAREN ROCKETT

Stunned survivors of the earthquake huddled together, held their heads in their hands and covered their eyes - as rescue workers wrapped the dead in blankets and sheets and laid out their bodies in rows.

Many had gone to bed after evening prayers, before waking to apocalyptic scenes of terror.

People fled buildings and waited outside as volunteers worked through the night, searching for signs of life in the destruction.

But daylight revealed the huge scale of the damage done by the 7.2 magnitude quake.