Iran earthquake death toll climbs to 129
MOSCOW. KAZINFORM The magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the area at the Iranian-Iraqi border on Sunday has killed 129 people, TASS cites the Iranian Fars news agency. The number of injured people has exceeded 1,000.
According to the crisis center, the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces in western Iran were affected the most, with the greatest destruction reported in the cities of Qasr-e-Shirin, Ilam and Kermanshah.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered to provide the necessary assistance to those affected by the earthquake. The local Red Crescent department has launched search-and-rescue operations in the area. Strategic facilities, including oil and gas infrastructure, have not been affected.
A total of 12 aftershocks of magnitude from 3.6 to 4.7 have been registered over the past three hours.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the quake's epicenter was located 32 kilometers north of the Iranian city of Sarpol-e Zahab and 100 kilometers southeast of Iraq's Sulaumaniyah at a depth of ten kilometers.