MANY FEARED DEAD IN IRAN EARTHQUAKE

Tehran, August 11, 2012

Two strong earthquakes struck northwest Iran on Saturday killing more than 150 people and injuring more than 400, said media reports citing the head of the country's emergency services.

The quakes, with magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.3 according to the US Geological Survey, struck northeast of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 9.8 km.

Iranian media quoted the University of Tehran's Seismological Centre as saying the quake struck 60 km outside Tabriz at 16:53 local time.

'According to the reports, about 140 to 150 people have been killed in the quakes today,' Gholamreza Masoumi told the ISNA news agency.

'About 400 have also been injured and were transported to Tabriz and Ardebil, the two of the biggest cities in the region,' he added.

Iran is straddled by several major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent times, the last which struck the city of Bam in 2003, killing more than 25,000 people.-Reuters

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