Strong quake hits Iran, injures 42

At least 42 people have been injured and several homes destroyed after a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck southeastern Iran on Friday.

According to a report by State media, no lives was lost in the quake that happened in a village where most of the people lived in mud houses.

 

Rescue workers, special teams with sniffer dogs and units of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia forces were sent to the quake-hit areas in Kerman province, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.

State TV said many residents rushed out of houses in Kerman city and nearby villages and towns, fearing more tremors after some 30 aftershocks following the early morning quake.

The US Geological Survey said the quake, at first reported as magnitude 6.3, was centreed 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Kerman city, with a population of more than 821,000. The quake was very shallow, at a depth of 10 km, which would have amplified the shaking in the poor, sparsely populated area.