TEHRAN, IRAN — At least 70 people were injured on Wednesday when an 5.8 magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern Iran near the border with Turkey, state media said.
The quake struck near the city of Khoy in West Azerbaijan province at 13:38 pm (1008 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The Seismological Center of the University of Tehran said the earthquake was of 5.4 magnitude and 12 kilometres (7.45 miles) deep.
State television said, citing officials from the area, that at least “70 people were injured” trying to escape to safety and more than 300 houses in 15 villages were damaged.
Iran sits astride the boundaries of several major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.
In February 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rattled the western village of Habash-e Olya killed at least nine people over the border in neighbouring Turkey.
Iran’s deadliest recorded quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in the country’s north, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.
— AFP
