At least two people were killed and 307 others injured in a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that shook Iran’s West Azerbaijan province on Saturday, TASS reported.
The agency cited the Red Crescent and Mojtab Khalidi of the Emergency Relief Organization.
According to them, 307 people were injured, of which 300 in the city of Hoi and seven in the city of Selmas. Khalidi told the agency that “according to initial data, two people died as a result of this earthquake.”
He also noted that rapid response teams have been dispatched to the affected areas. About 500 extra beds have been deployed in hospitals in the province due to the high number of calls to the medical centers. A field hospital is being considered.
The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that the quake occurred at 9:44 p.m. local time. According to the Iranian Seismological Center, its magnitude was 5.9 on the Richter scale, and the depth was 7 kilometers.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7 and a depth of 43 kilometers, according to TASS. Its epicenter was 23 km southeast of the city of Hoi An, home to 175,000 people.
The tremor was felt in many areas of West Azerbaijan province, causing concern among residents, as well as in several cities, including the capital Tabriz, in neighboring East Azerbaijan province.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the earthquake was also felt in Turkey, Iraq, Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
