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612 dead in Iran quake
26/02/2005 13:58 - (SA)
Tehran - A total of 612 people died and 1,400 were injured in the earthquake that hit southeastern Iran this week, Kerman provincial Governor Mohammad Ali Karimi told state radio on Saturday.
The previous toll stood at 602 dead and 991 hurt.
The 6.4 magnitude quake struck before dawn on Tuesday, levelling mud-brick houses in dozens of villages and affecting an estimated 30 000 people in the Zarand region north of the provincial capital of Kerman.
About 8 000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the Zarand district and at least two villages were razed by the force of the quake.
According to the official news agency Irna, the area as been hit by some 49 aftershocks since Tuesday.
Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent violent earthquakes. During the 20th century, some 170 000 people in about 20 quakes.
On December 2003, a 6.7 magnitude quake struck Bam in Kerman province, killing more than 31 000.
- SAPA
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