Five killed as strong twin earthquakes rock Iran

By: AFP
Published: 09:23 AM, 2 Jul, 2022
Five killed as strong twin earthquakes rock Iran
Caption: A view of the damage.–IRNA
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At least five people were killed and 19 injured when strong twin earthquakes shook southern Iran early Saturday, the state news agency IRNA reported.

The 6.0 magnitude quake hit 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, the US Geological Survey said. The quake struck just a minute after a 5.7 tremor.

Hormozgan governor Mahdi Dosti said the quakes killed five people and injured 19 others, IRNA reported.

Dosti said most of the damage occurred in the village of Sayeh Khost, close to the epicentre.

Residents from various parts of the UAE also felt tremors early morning on Saturday following an earthquake measuring 6.3 in Ritcher scale in Iran.

Social media is abuzz with people reporting how they felt tremors following the earthquake. According to National Centre for Meteorology (NCM), the earthquake was recorded in southern Iran at 1.32am at a depth of 10km.

One person was killed in November last year when Hormozgan province was hit by twin 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes.

Situated on the edge of several tectonic plates and crossing various fault lines, Iran is an area of strong seismic activity.

Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor that struck in 1990, killing 40,000 people in the north of the country.

Agence France-Presse is an international news agency.