TEHRAN, Iran — A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Iran on Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring 49, state TV reported, followed by two strong tremors measuring up to 6.3 magnitude.
About 24 tremors, two measuring 6.3 and 6.1, followed the 2 a.m. local time tremor that flattened the village of Sayeh Khosh near Iran’s Gulf Coast in Hormozgan Province. The latest quake struck around 8 a.m., officials told state television.
Rescue teams have been deployed near the epicenter, the village of Sayeh Khosh, home to around 300 people in Hormozgan province, some 620 miles south of the capital Tehran, the report said.
“All victims died in the first earthquake and no one was injured in the next two major tremors as people were already outside their homes,” Foad Moradzadeh, governor of Bandar Lengeh country, said as quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
People took to the streets as aftershocks shook the area after the early morning tremor, which also damaged buildings and infrastructure.
Ambulance spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told state television half of the 49 injured had been discharged from hospitals.
According to the report, the earthquake was felt in many neighboring countries. Officials also said the search and rescue operations had ended.
The area has experienced several moderate earthquakes in recent weeks. In November, a man died after two 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude earthquakes.
Iran lies on large seismic faults and experiences an average of one earthquake per day. In 2003, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake devastated the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. A magnitude 7 earthquake in western Iran in 2017 killed more than 600 people and injured more than 9,000.
