Medium-sized quake hits southwestern Iran, causing injuries

TEHRAN, Iran — A magnitude 5.7 earthquake jolted a town in southwestern Iran on Monday, injuring more than 100 people and damaging buildings.

The semi-official ILNA news agency says seven out of the 112 people injured were hospitalized, and an older man died of a heart attack during the earthquake.

Rescue teams were still combing the mountainous area around the town of Masjid Soleiman in the Khuzestan province bordering Iraq. Some 6,000 people live in 15 villages near the epicenter.

State TV showed footage of damaged buildings and piles of rubble. Iman Nazarpour, a local resident, told The Associated Press that the quake damaged buildings in the centre of town. Rahim Zaheri, another resident, said some older buildings had collapsed while others showed cracks.

Iran is located on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake per day on average. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam in southern Iran, killing 26,000 people.

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The U.S. Geological Survey said Monday’s quake was centred 28 kilometres (17 miles) southeast of Masjid Soleiman, and at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). At least five aftershocks were recorded, and tremors were felt as far away as Kuwait.

The town was the site of the first oil well in Iran and the Middle East.

The Associated Press