A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the province of Ilam in western Iran yesterday, injuring at least 250 people and causing extensive damage to buildings, Iranian media said.
The US Geological Survey, reporting the magnitude of the quake at 6.3, said it struck 36km southeast of the city of Abdanan, near the border with Iraq.
According to state television, the quake occurred at 7:02am near the town of Mour-Mouri.
“Fortunately there have been no reports of deaths so far, but there have been injuries and a great deal of material damage,” a Red Cross official told state television.
The head of the crisis committee for the area, Ahmad Karami, later said 250 people had been injured in the quake.
A number of homes and public buildings were damaged in the village of Mour-Mouri, as well as eight nearby villages, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
A number of people spent the night outside their homes after at least 44 smaller tremors struck the area on Sunday, media reported.
In other news about Iran, the UN’s chief nuclear inspector yesterday said that Tehran now is showing some cooperation with a long-stalled probe of suspicions that it worked secretly on nuclear weapons.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yuikya Amano spoke after meetings in Tehran with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and other top officials.
The IAEA probe has been stalemated since it began seven years ago. Both sides agreed to intensify efforts late last year.
Amano said he was able to “follow up” on his investigation of detonators that could have been used in nuclear-weapons related work.
Additional reporting by AP
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