Quake Jolts Northwest Iran, 5 Reported Dead

The epicenter of the quake was the city of Tark in Mianeh County, about 120 km from Tabriz, the provincial capital city of East Azerbaijan, at 02:17 am Tehran local time, according to the Iranian Seismological Center.

The quake took place at a depth of eight kilometers underground and shook the ground for 10 seconds.

According to the preliminary estimates, the quake has killed at least 5 people and injured some 332 more.

As many as 57 aftershocks have been reported in ten hours after the magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook seven provinces.

The spokesman for the East Azerbaijan Province’s Emergency Center Vahid Sahdi said that as many as 8 search and rescue teams have been dispatched to the area at early hours after the quake.

Shadi said that the earthquake was felt at the neighboring provinces of Ardabil and West Azerbaijan.

East Azerbaijan’s provincial governor also said that as many as 400 homes in rural areas are reported to have been damaged in the quake.

Three villages have been destroyed while 5 more have received wide damages.

Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani has made a phone call to the governor ordering to mobilize all facilities to deal with the situation.