Iran says 32 killed in quake

iol news pic Seismologist quake seismograph

Tehran, Iran - A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed 32 and injured hundreds more in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region.

The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96

kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.

“No damage was done to Bushehr power plant,” Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV. He said 32 people died and 850 were injured, including 100 who were hospitalized.

Water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh.

Shahpour Rostami, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, told state TV that rescue teams have been deployed to Shonbeh. Three helicopters were sent to survey the damaged area before sunset, said Mohammad Mozaffar, the head of Iran's Red Crescent rescue department.

Kaki resident Mondani Hosseini told The Associated Press that people had run out into the streets out of fear.

Iran announced three days of mourning.

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where workers were evacuated from high-rise buildings as a precaution.

Earlier on Sunday a lighter earthquake jolted the nearby area. Iran is located on seismic faults and it experiences frequent earthquakes.

In 2003, some 26 000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam. - Sapa-AP

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