Up to 300 people were feared to have died in an earthquake which shook northern Morocco early on Tuesday around the Mediterranean port city of Al Hoceima, a local official said. "The official death toll now stands at 42 but the number of people killed could reach 300," a local member of parliament, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured 6.5 on the Richter scale when it struck around 2:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. EST Monday). A magnitude of 6.0 can cause severe damage.