Strong earthquake jolts southern Iran
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.6 has hit a sparsely populated area of southern Iran.
“There have been not been any casualties or major damage in Qeshm Island, the epicentre, according to the initial reports,” said Abbas Dastyar, a spokesman for the governor’s office in Hormozgan province.
Dastyar, speaking from Bandar Abbas, 940 miles south of the capital Tehran and 14 miles north-east of Qeshm Island, said rescue teams were deployed in remote areas where damage was expected.
The quake occurred at 00.33am local time (10.03pm Irish time Wednesday) and shook Qeshm Island in the Straits of Hormuz, the Tehran Seismological Centre said.
“There are blackouts in most neighbourhoods and people poured into the streets out of fear, said journalist Ali Khorshidzadeh.
The US Geological Survey reported that the quake reached a 5.6 magnitude.
Qeshm Island was hit by a magnitude 5.9 quake in November 2005 that killed 10 people and injured 70.
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.
