Seven killed in Iran quake, no damage to nuclear station reported
Source: Reuters
DUBAI, Nov 28 (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed in an earthquake in Iran on Thursday near the city of Bushehr, where the country's sole nuclear power plant is situated, state news agency IRNA reported.
The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.6, struck about 40 miles (60 km) northeast of Bushehr on the Gulf coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. No damage to the nuclear plant was reported.
IRNA said seven people had died, and quoted the governor of Bushehr saying there was "total calm" in the area. Relief teams had been sent to the affected towns and villages, he said.
Helicopters will be dispatched on Friday to assess the damage, said Fars news agency, which put the death toll slightly higher, at eight.
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MADem
(135,425 posts)I'd love to know if everything's really OK....they had an earthquake there in that same general area last spring--it was pretty serious. The pictures look grim and there are eight dead now and dozens injured thus far:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/28/world/meast/iran-earthquake/
Twelve of the injured were in critical condition, Fars said, citing Hassan Qadami, the head of Iran's Crisis-Management Headquarters.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.6-magnitude quake was centered about 39 miles (63 km) northeast of the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr, where the nuclear plant is located, and 7 miles (14 km) northeast of Borazjan.
The quake struck at a relatively shallow -- and therefore more likely to be damaging -- depth of 10.2 miles (16.4 km) at 5:21 p.m. local time. A reporter for the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency in Borazjan said residential buildings were damaged and electricity was disrupted to several areas, including sections of Borazjan.
The city is in Bushehr province, which is the site of a nuclear power plant that went online in 2011. There was no immediate report of how the plant fared in Thursday's temblor.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he was "deeply saddened" to hear of the casualties and expressed condolences to the victims' families.