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More quake deaths expected
22/02/2005 11:00 - (SA)
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| In this image made from Iranian IRINN TV, people are shown sitting amongst the rubble of destroyed buildings in the town of Zarand after a earthquake hit. (IRINN TV, AP) |
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Tehran - At least 170 people were killed and hundreds more injured when a powerful earthquake hit southeastern Iran early on Tuesday, officials said, amid fears that the toll could rise sharply.
The quake, which struck 14 months after the Bam disaster, was reported to have devastated several villages, and at least one other settlement could not be reached because of blocked roads.
"According to our latest information, the quake has left 126 people dead and 500 injured," Mohammad Javad Fadaye, the head of said.
"According to figures from the hospitals, more than 170 people have been killed," said a another spokesperson for the local government in the affected province of Kerman. "But this figure could rise to 300."
The worst hit village appeared to be Dahuyeh, which has a population of 820 and was "destroyed 100%", according to Ali Komsari, a spokessperson for the local government in Kerman province.
Television pictures from the stricken area showed villagers scrambling to pull bodies from the rubble of their mud-brick built houses, wailing in distress.
The head of Kerman university hospital, Ali Sharifi, said earlier that 100 bodies had been recovered from the rubble and that 5 000 people had been hurt.
Still not reached some villages
"But many villages have still not been reached by the rescue services, and we think therefore that the toll could go a lot higher," he told state radio.
The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 6.4 on the open-ended Richter scale and was centred on a point 60km northwest of the city of Kerman.
Iranian television reported the intensity of the quake at 6.2 points and said most of the damage occurred in the Zarand region of Kerman province.
Mohsen Salehi, an official with the natural disasters service in Kerman province said five villages in the region suffered 20 to 70% damage, and at least one village was completely cut off due to blocked roads.
"Up till now we have sent two helicopters to the scene and another four are preparing to take off," he added. The government also mobilised two battalions of troops to help in the rescue effort, he said.
Residents were urged to leave their homes for fear of aftershocks.
The governor of the Zarand region said on state television that there were no reports of casualties in the city of Kerman, but the quake had knocked out electrical power there.
Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to violent earthquakes.
The region hit on Tuesday is about 200km northwest of the ancient city of Bam, where more than 30 000 people were killed when a quake measuring 6.7 points practically razed the city in December 2003.
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