Huge earthquake kills 80 in Iran

A massive earthquake shook central Iran today, killing at least 80 people and injuring more than 300.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck at 5.55am local time (2.25am Irish time), was 35 miles from Kerman, the capital of Kerman province, the US Geological Survey reported.

State-run television quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani as saying that the 6.4-magnitude quake in Kerman province killed 80 people and injured more than 300.

Kerman provincial governor Mohammad Ali Karimi said “several villages have been destroyed” by the earthquake.

The television quoted the governor of Zarand, identified only as Rashidi, as saying that power in the region had been disrupted.

Zarand, 600 miles south east of the capital Tehran, is a small town in Kerman province.

The television broadcast said that rescuers were on their way to several villages near Zarand.

A 6.6 quake in December 2003 flattened the historic south-eastern city of Bam in the same region, killing 26,000 people.

Iran experiences at least one slight earthquake every day on average.