Powerful earthquake hits near Iran's Mashhad city
Powerful earthquake hits near Iran's Mashhad city
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit near Iran's Shia Muslim holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday, killing at least two people, local media reported.
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Iran lies on a major fault line and sees frequent earthquakes [AFP]
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck northeastern Iran near the holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday, killing at least two people as residents fled onto the streets and aftershocks shook the region.
The epicentre of the quake appeared to be the Sefid Sang district, a remote mountainous area home to 5,000 people some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Iran's Shia Muslim holy city of Mashhad.
Semi-official Iranian news agencies posted videos online of people in the street and pictures of cracks and damage to some buildings.
"It was horrible. It made a lot of noise. Everything was shaking," a Mashhad resident told AFP by phone.
Local media described the depth of the quake as only 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). Shallow earthquakes can cause serious damage.
Rescue teams and helicopters were deployed to the area to assess the damage.
Iran lies on a major fault line and sees frequent earthquakes.
A 2003 quake killed at least 31,000 people and all but destroyed the historic city of Bam in the southeast of the country.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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