Strong earthquake kills 5 in southern Iran
Five people
were killed and 44 others injured in a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in southern
Iran on Saturday, state television reported.
Rescue teams
were deployed near the epicenter, Sayeh Khosh village, which is home to around
300 people in Hormozgan province, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of
the capital, Tehran, the report said.
People went
into the streets as aftershocks continued to jolt the area after the early
morning quake, which also damaged buildings and infrastructure.
The
earthquake was felt in many neighboring countries, the report said.
The area has
seen several moderate earthquakes in recent weeks. In November, one man died
following two magnitude 6.4 and 6.3 earthquakes.
Iran lies on
major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake a day on average. In 2003,
a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000
people. A magnitude 7 earthquake that struck western Iran in 2017 killed more
than 600 people and injured more than 9,000.
