5 killed, 84 wounded in Iran earthquakes

Tehran, July 3 (IANS) At least five were killed and 84 wounded in three earthquakes measuring above magnitude 6 that shook Iran's southern province of Hormozgan, semi-official Fars news agency quoted an emergency official as saying.Among the injured were 29 hospitalised, said Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesman for the country's emergency services, on Saturday.Khaledi said earlier that ambulances and helicopters have been sent to the quake-hit areas, adding in some places power outages occurred, Xinhua news agency reported.The first 6.1-magnitude quake occurred at a depth of 10 km at 2:02 a.m. on Friday, followed by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitudes a few hours later. Many aftershocks with a magnitude of above four have also been registered.The earthquakes have damaged some houses in rural areas, destroyed a number of bridges and overpasses, and caused landslides on roads.Mokhtar Salahshour, CEO of Hormozgan Province's Red Crescent Society, said the rescue work has ended and people have been given refuge in emergency shelters, adding tents and aid items have been distributed.
--IANS int/khz/

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