A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the border region between Iran and Iraq, killing about 450 people, almost all of them in Iran, APA reports quoting Presstv.
The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at around 09:18 pm local time on Sunday (0010 GMT on Monday), was 32 kilometers south of the Iraqi city of Halabja, in Iraqi Kurdistan, and just across the border from Iran, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
But the highest casualties occurred in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab, in Iran’s Kermanshah Province.
According to official tallies, 445 Iranians were confirmed dead as of Monday afternoon. Over 7,156 others were also injured.
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18:50
Death toll after the devastating quake on the Iranian-Iraq border has reached 407, with some 6,700 injured, IRINN TV reported.
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16:22
The quake's death toll has reached 372 people, with some 6,000 injured, Iran's state TV reported.
The earthquake also killed another 11 people in Iraq.
The electricity was cut off in several Iranian cities. Telephone and Internet services are out of order.
It is worth recalling that a deadlier earthquake had killed some 40,000 people in Iran in 1990.
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12:49
At least 339 people were killed and 2,530 others injured by a quake in Iran’s Kermanshah province on the Iraqi border, APA reported citing RIA Novosti.
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05:48
More than 120 people were killed in Iran and at least several others in Iraq on Sunday when a powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the region, state media in the two countries said, as rescuers stepped up efforts overnight to find dozens trapped under rubble, APA reports quoting Reuters.
At least 129 people were killed in Iran’s Kermanshah province on the Iraqi border, the provincial deputy governor told state television. “There are still people under the rubble. We hope the number of dead and injured won’t rise too much, but it will rise,” Mojtaba Nikkerdar said
More than 60 of the victims were in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab, about 15 km (10 miles) from the border. A quake registering a magnitude between 7 and 7.9 can inflict widespread, heavy damage.
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