80 hurt as quake hits Iran

TEHRAN: At least 80 people were hurt on Sunday and many homes were damaged when an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Zarand in southern Iran's Kerman province, Iranian media said.
    
ISNA news agency said 14 people were hospitalised, while 60 were treated as outpatients. The quake struck the area at 9.50 am (11.50 IST).
    
"The walls of many houses have been seriously damaged and it is anticipated that more 60 percent of Zarand homes will no longer be inhabitable," state radio quoted a local official as saying.
    
State television cited fears that miners in the area could be trapped underground. The province has a number of copper, iron and coal mines.

 

Iran is an earthquake-prone area. The worst quake in recent times hit Bam, also in Kerman province, in December 2003, killing 31,000 people.

 

In late March, a powerful earthquake hit western Iran, killing at least 70 people and leaving thousands homeless.

 

In February 2005, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale killed more than 600 in Zarand.