Iranian quake kills at least eight

More than 80 villages were seriously damaged by a strong earthquake that hit northern Iran today, killing at least eight people.

Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani said the villages most damaged were near Alamout, about 80 miles west of Tehran, the capital.

“The damage is estimated between 30 to 50%,” he said.

At least eight people have been reported dead and 28 injured in the quake, measured at 6.2 magnitude by the US Geological Survey.

Tehran University’s seismological centre said the quake’s epicentre was in the village of Baladeh near the Caspian Sea.

The quake shook eight provinces in central and northern Iran. The seismological centre said there were 12 aftershocks.

A massive quake in south-east Iran in December killed an estimated 15,000 people.