Earthquake death toll expected to rise

Rescuers searching the devastation caused by the Iran earthquake expect the death toll to rise further.

Rescue teams with dogs and heavy equipment search for survivors and cleared debris.

After a miserable night and day spent homeless in the cold and rain of the mountainous region, survivors in devastated villages got a morale boost: two truckloads of dates sent from Bam, the nearby city flattened by a 2003 earthquake that killed 26,000 people.

“Our people know what a catastrophe an earthquake is because they tasted it themselves more than a year ago,” said Abbas Esmaeili, head of Bam’s municipal council.

Rain and snow continued to fall in the region, about 600 miles south-east of the capital Tehran. In the drizzle and mist, workers in Hotkan carried away blanket-wrapped corpses across a landscape of mud littered with belongings and wood shards.

“Even sky is crying for Hotkan,” said Rokhsareh Sefatzadeh, beating her chest in grief. She lost her husband and all four of her children in the quake. At least 150 of the village’s 1,800 residents were killed.

With the bodies discovered today, the toll across the area rose to 500, said Mohammad Javad Fadaei, deputy governor of Kerman province. “There’s a possibility that the figure will increase,” he said. At least 900 people were injured.

Workers also discovered survivors buried under the ruins of their homes more than a day after the quake struck before dawn on Tuesday.

Some 40 villages were affected by the quake, and many of the area’s population of 30,000 were left homeless.

The Iranian government has so far not asked directly for international help.