More than 87 killed in Iran earthquake

By NICHOLAS CHRISTIAN
Published on 11/08/2012 23:43

IRANIAN state television last night said at least 87 people have been killed in a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in north-western Iran.

At least 400 others were injured in the quake which damaged hundreds of homes near the town of Ahar in East Azerbaijan province.

The news agency ISNA quoted the head of the government’s emergency centre, Gholamreza Masoumi, when announcing the casualty figures.

The US Geological Survey measured the first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 37 miles north-east of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 6.2 miles.

It said a second quake measuring 6.3 struck 30 miles north-east of Tabriz 11 minutes later at a similar depth.

A local provincial official urged people in the region to stay outside during the night in case of aftershocks. By yesterday evening ISNA said there had been at least ten aftershocks.

Iran is straddled by several major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent times, the last which struck the city of Bam in 2003, killing more than 25,000 people.