More than 500 injured in earthquake in Iran
At least 500 people were injured in an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale in northwestern Iran, state-run media reported. The earthquake originated near the city of Khoi in Iran's West Azerbaijan province on Wednesday (October 05). News NDTV.
Azerbaijan's Governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian told Iranian state television that 528 people were injured in the quake, which originated 10 kilometers below the surface in Iran's West Azerbaijan province. 135 of them have been admitted to hospital.
The earthquake and its aftershocks damaged around 500 houses in 12 villages in Azerbaijan. Out of which 50 houses were completely destroyed.
According to the Iranian Seismological Center of the University of Tehran, the earthquake struck at 3:51 a.m. local time. Its depth was 10 km. The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) earlier reported that the earthquake originated near the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran border region.
Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesman for the country's national emergency service, told state television that electricity and water were cut off in some villages in the towns of Salmas and Khoya, near the epicenter.
State television aired footage of destroyed shops and homes after the quake struck at 3:30 a.m. local time.
Iran's location on the border of several major tectonic plates is prone to earthquakes. The country is frequently hit by mild to moderate earthquakes.
In 1990, one of the deadliest earthquakes of magnitude 7.4 struck Iran. At that time, as a result of the earthquake, more than 40 thousand people were killed and more than 3 lakh were injured in the country. In addition, another five lakh people of the country became homeless in this earthquake.
