Two powerful earthquakes killed 180 people and injured about 1,500 in northwest Iran where rescuers frantically combed the rubble of dozens of villages through the night into Sunday.
Thousands fled their homes in panic, and stayed overnight in makeshift camps or in the streets after Saturday's quakes and about 40 aftershocks hit the area.
Casualty figures are expected to rise, Iranian officials said, as some of the injured were in a critical condition while others were still trapped under the rubble in inaccessible places and rescue efforts were hampered by the darkness.
Six villages were destroyed and about 60 sustained more than 50 percent damage, Iranian media reported.
Photographs posted on Iranian news websites showed numerous bodies lying on the floor of a white-tiled morgue in the town of Ahar, and medical staff, surrounded by anxious residents, treating the injured in the open air as dusk fell.
Other images showed collapsed buildings and cars crushed by rubble.
Iran is situated on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 that reduced the southeastern historic city of Bam into dust and killed more than 25,000 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured Saturday's first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 60 km (37 miles) northeast of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 9.9 km (6.2 miles). A second quake measuring 6.3 struck 49 km (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz 11 minutes later at a similar depth.
Officials said 180 people had been killed and about 1,500 injured, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The second quake struck near the town of Varzaghan. "The quake was so intense that people poured into the streets through fear," Fars said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/iran-quake-idUSL6E8JB3EG20120812
LOL
Must be the will of Allah
Thousands fled their homes in panic, and stayed overnight in makeshift camps or in the streets after Saturday's quakes and about 40 aftershocks hit the area.
Casualty figures are expected to rise, Iranian officials said, as some of the injured were in a critical condition while others were still trapped under the rubble in inaccessible places and rescue efforts were hampered by the darkness.
Six villages were destroyed and about 60 sustained more than 50 percent damage, Iranian media reported.
Photographs posted on Iranian news websites showed numerous bodies lying on the floor of a white-tiled morgue in the town of Ahar, and medical staff, surrounded by anxious residents, treating the injured in the open air as dusk fell.
Other images showed collapsed buildings and cars crushed by rubble.
Iran is situated on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 that reduced the southeastern historic city of Bam into dust and killed more than 25,000 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured Saturday's first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 60 km (37 miles) northeast of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 9.9 km (6.2 miles). A second quake measuring 6.3 struck 49 km (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz 11 minutes later at a similar depth.
Officials said 180 people had been killed and about 1,500 injured, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The second quake struck near the town of Varzaghan. "The quake was so intense that people poured into the streets through fear," Fars said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/iran-quake-idUSL6E8JB3EG20120812
LOL
Must be the will of Allah
