A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous region in northwestern Iran near the border with Turkey on Saturday evening, killing three people and injuring more than 800, most of them slightly.
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According to the Seismological Center of Tehran University, at 21:44 local time (1814 GMT) the earthquake struck the city of Khoy in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province (northwest).
Three people were killed, while the number of wounded was estimated at 816 wounded by the governor of the province, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, quoted by Irna agency. An earlier report released overnight reported two dead and 580 injured.
“Currently 30 people are in the hospital, the other injured were discharged after outpatient treatment,” announced Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Kolivand on television.
Search and rescue operations for victims, carried out with the help of rescue groups from neighboring provinces, have ended while Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi traveled to Khoy to monitor the situation, Irna clarified.
Homes in 70 villages suffered between 20 percent and 80 percent damage, and damage in urban areas is greater than in previous earthquakes in the region, Motamedian said.
More than 20 aftershocks sparked panic among residents, who fled their homes despite wintry conditions.
Footage released by Iranian media shows people sitting under blankets around fires as a snow wave hits the northwest.
This region is regularly hit by earthquakes, such as the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that injured several hundred people near Khoy on January 8.
In February 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck the village of Habash-e Olya, killing at least nine people across the border in Turkey.
Located at the junction of several tectonic plates, Iran is experiencing intense seismic activity.
The deadliest earthquake ever recorded in Iran, measuring 7.4 magnitude, occurred in 1990, killing 40,000 and injuring 30,000 in the north of the country. Half a million people became homeless as a result.