Over 500 Dead, 1,200 Injured in Iran Earthquake

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Over 500 Dead, 1,200 Injured in Iran Earthquake

More than 500 people were killed andat least 1,200 others injured in a strong earthquake early Saturdayin Iran, the state IRNA news agency reported.

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More than 500 people were killed andat least 1,200 others injured in a strong earthquake early Saturdayin Iran, the state IRNA news agency reported.

The quake, which hit Iran's northern, central and western provinces of Gilan, Tehran, Kurdestan, Qazvin, Zanjan and Hamedan at around local time 7:30 a.m. (0300 GMT), was succeeded by severalaftershocks between 8:10 a.m. (0340 GMT) and 15:11 p.m. (1041 GMT) with the magnitudes between 4.1 and 5.2 degrees on the open-ended Richard scale.

The Seismological Institute of Geophysics Center of the Tehran University said the tremor was of 6.0 degrees on the open-ended Richard scale. It located the epicenter of the tremor at Bouin Zahra in Qazvin Province.

Majid Shalviri, head of the Red Crescent Society of the Qazvin province, said that "in the village of Kisse-Jin only, 80 people have been killed."

Following the devastating tremor, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami ordered Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari to personally take "the grave responsibilities" in this tragic event.

The Iranian president asked Lari to use all means of the countrywith the coordination of other state apparatus to rapidly assist those affected by the quake.

Iran embraces a number of quake-prone zones. Tens of thousands of people were killed in Bouin Zahra in a strong earthquake in September, 1984.

In 1990, a seven plus Richter-degree earthquake hit northern provinces of Zanjan and Gilan, in which tens of thousands of peoplelost their lives.

Official reports have said that as of 1991 over 950 earthquakes have jolted Iran, claiming 17,600 lives and injuring 53,300 others.

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