Southern Iran hit by quake

Southern Iran has been shaken by a powerful earthquake which destroyed several villages but appears to have had a relatively low death toll. So far ten people are said to have been killed and around 50 injured, according to authorities in Tehran.

The epicentre was close to an island near the city of Bandar Abbas, 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran. Iranian officials said the quake had a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale. Iran has been hit by a number of devastating earthquakes in recent years, including one in 2003 which killed more than 30,000 people.

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