Earthquake in Iran's Kashmar kills at least four, 120 injured
At least four people were killed and 120 injured Tuesday in a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Iran's northeastern city of Kashmar, state media reported. (AFP/File)
A 5 magnitude earthquake hit Kashmar in northeastern Iran's Razavi Khorasan province at 1:24 pm afternoon on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring 120, officials said.
Governor Hojjatollah Shariatmadari confirmed the casualties and stated that 35 of the injured were hospitalized.
The US Geological Survey reported the quake's epicentre to be five kilometres from Moghan, Razavi Khorasan Province, at a depth of six kilometres. Iranian media also reported the earthquake as a 5 magnitude event.
Iran, located on major fault lines, frequently experiences earthquakes. Last November, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the Iraqi border resulted in over 530 deaths and thousands of injuries.
The United Nations estimates that Iran experiences around 10,000 earthquakes annually. The country is still recovering from the 2003 Bam earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.6 and killed tens of thousands.
In a separate incident last year, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province, killed at least three people and injured more than 800. At the time, the Mehr news agency reported that 70 villages were damaged.