At least 250 people were killed and over 1,800 injured in twin quakes that rocked northwestern Iran on Saturday, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday, citing local officials.
"According to the latest reports, 250 people have been killed and more than 1,800 others have been injured by the two earthquakes which shook the East Azarbaijan province yesterday," Fars quoted Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Hassan Qaddami as saying.
An earthquake measuring 6.2 points on the Richter scale struck the city of Ahar in the East Azerbaijan province at 16:00 hours local time (11:30 GMT) on Saturday. The epicenter of the tremor was located in an area 46.8 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.
Almost an hour later, another quake with magnitude 6 on the Richter scale hit Varzaqan at 17:04 hours local time (12:34 GMT) in the same province. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in an area 46.7 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.
In total, 110 villages have been damaged. In the Ahar area, 4 villages were destroyed completely while 60 others sustained damage from 50 to 80 percent. In the Varzaqan area, 12 villages were destroyed completely.
Thousands of local residents were forced to remain outdoors as at least 35 aftershocks rocked the area.
"We hope that the death toll will not increase any more," Qaddami said, adding all those under the debris had been rescued and the quake-stricken people were now being provided with their basic needs.
Iran is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating, as it sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust. The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 when the 7.7-magnitude disaster killed some 37,000 people and left over 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan, devastating 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.
