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Iran twin quakes leave at least 250 dead, over 1500 injured

Kashmir Times. Dated: 8/13/2012 12:09:01 AM

Tehran, Aug 12 (Agencies): Search operation in quake-hit north-western Iran is going on as death toll reached at least 250 and over 1500 injured on Sunday.
Two successive strong earthquakes struck northwest Iran on Saturday, state TV reported.
The earthquakes, measuring 6.2 and 6.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, had its epicentre just 60 kilometres from Tabriz, as per Tehran University's Seismological Centre.
As per initial report, the TV quoted Khalil Saei, local Crisis Committee chief, as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 17 others in Haris.
Since last night, the toll increased to at least 220 as rescue operation teams were digging out people from the debris.
The injured were shifted to hospitals in Tabriz and Ardebil, head of Iran's emergency organization Gholamreza Ma'soumi said.
In Tabriz city, where the quake was felt strongly, people rushed out of their houses in panic. Phone networks were disrupted in the region.
The broadcast said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 per cent, while 4 other villages had been totally leveled to the ground.
The TV said at least three aftershocks -- measuring 6.0, 4.7 and 4.1 -- jolted the same area and were felt in a wide region near the Caspian Sea.
Meanwhile, the rescue teams are striving on Sunday to dig survivors out of the rubble of twin strong earthquakes.
According to a news agency, the emergency teams are relying on radios and travelling in person to hard-hit villages to assess and rescue the injured persons.
While expressing condolences, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office posted a statement on its website calling on authorities to "mobilise all efforts to help the affected populations."
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are so small they go unnoticed.