At least five people have been killed and about fifty injured in three earthquakes, two of which had magnitudes greater than six, that hit southern Iran yesterday at dawn, the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) said.
According to the American Institute of Geophysics, the first earthquake occurred at about 2 am, its magnitude was six, and it was recorded at a depth of 16 kilometers. According to the same source, two tremors of magnitude 5.7 and 6 degrees followed two hours later at a depth of ten kilometers.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber called on local authorities to “mobilize all available funds in the province to help the victims,” state television reported.
In the provincial capital of Bandar Abbas, with a population of half a million, residents spent the night on the streets and long lines lined up in front of gas stations, according to public television.
The US Seismological Institute reported that the earthquake occurred in an area 100 km southwest of the port of Bandar Abbas.
