At least 5 killed, dozens injured in Iran earthquakes
Tehran, Jul 2 (EFE).- At least five people have been killed and dozens injured on Saturday in three shallow earthquakes of that shook southern Iran, state media reported.
Another 49 people were injured, according to Mojtaba Khalidi, the spokesperson of the country’s emergency organization, cited by the official Fars news outlet.
Hormozgan provincial governor Mehdi Dosti said that the earthquakes shook the region early in the morning around the village of Sayeh Khosh of Bandar Khamir area, near the Hormuz Strait.
Local authorities cited by Fars said the two subsequent earthquakes widened the scope of damage in the region.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the shakes at M6 at a depth of 16 kilometers, M5.7 at a depth of 10km and M6 at a depth of 10km. Aftershocks ranging from M4.2-5 have occurred since.
State television showed images of collapsed houses, people on the streets and rescue teams at work.
A person in charge of Bandar Khamir, Foad Moradzadeh, told the IRNA state news agency that the deaths occurred in the first earthquake, since people evacuated from buildings were in the streets when the other tremors struck.
Iran has strong seismic activity as the country is situated on the boundary of several tectonic plates and is crossed by several faultlines.
In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake caused 620 deaths and injured more than 12,000 in the northwestern province of Kermanshah, while in December 2003 nearly 30,000 people died in another in the southern town of Bam. EFE
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