Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Iran and his government arranged for assistance. Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Marina Ryklina said two transport aircraft bearing rescue workers and equipment were to fly to Iran later yesterday.
Aftershocks
In a second earthquake, a temblor of magnitude 4 rocked the west Iranian town of Masjid Soleiman at 8:10am yesterday, but no casualties were immediately reported, state television said. Masjid Soleiman is about 480km southwest of Tehran and about 950km northwest of Bam.
Iran has a history of earthquakes that kill thousands of people. In 1990, a temblor of magnitude 7.3 killed about 50,000 people in northwest Iran. In 1978, a quake of magnitude 7.7 killed about 25,000 people in northeast Iran.
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