Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

306 People Killed, 4500 Injured in Iran Twin Earthquakes

August 13, 2012

Number of Injured People in Saturday Quake Rises to 4,500

August 13, 2012

TEHRAN (FNA)-

The twin quakes which struck parts of Northwestern Iran on Saturday have claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4,500 others, medical officials announced Monday.

"Evacuation and transferring the injured people in East Azarbaijan (province) ended in just 24 hours," Head of the State Emergency Center Gholam Reza Masoumi told FNA on Monday.

"From the overall 4,500 people injured in the incident, 1200 have been transferred to hospitals, mostly in Tabriz," he said, and added, "The other 3,300 injured people have been registered as outpatients."

Iran's Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi told the parliament earlier today that the two quakes have killed 306 people.

"The total number of those killed in the recent quakes in the East Azerbaijan province stood at 306," Dastjerdi told the Iranian lawmakers in an open session of the parliament here in Tehran on Monday.

She further added that 116 aftershocks have been registered in the area in the last few days.

An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Ahar in East Azerbaijan province at 16:00 hours local time (1130GMT) Saturday. The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 46.8 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.

Almost an hour later another quake with magnitude 6 on the Richter scale jolted Varzaqan at 17:04 hours local time (1234GMT) in the same province. The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 46.7 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.
 

Death toll rises as more quake victims uncovered

Iran has raised the death toll from Saturday’s devastating twin earthquakes in the village-strewn north of the country to 306 on Monday, after some 50 extra bodies were discovered. A search for survivors was called off Sunday.

By Nicolas Rushworth (video) News Wires (text)

AFP - Twin earthquakes that devastated rural villages in northwest Iran on the weekend killed a total of 306 people -- most of them women and children -- and injured 3,037, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi said on Monday.

The official toll, presented in a report to lawmakers and published on the parliament's website, was a big jump over the last one given on Sunday by Interior Minister Moustafa Mohammad-Najjar, who spoke of 227 dead and 1,380 injured.

Vahid Dastjerdi said that, of the 306 deaths, hospital morgues counted 219 women and children and 49 men. The discrepancy with the total appeared to come from the fact that some of those killed were buried by their families before officials arrived at the scene.

She also said that, of the 3,037 injured, most -- 2,011 -- were given first aid at the scene, while the remainder were taken to hospitals for treatment. Some 700 surgeries were performed, she said.

Two earthquakes measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale rumbled through northwest Iran on Saturday, levelling mud brick and concrete homes in villages to the northeast of the city of Tabriz.

Authorities called off rescue operations on Sunday after saying all possible survivors had been recovered.

Vahid Dastjerdi said that "we are continuing the search for bodies."

IRAN Relief efforts underway following deadly Iran quakes

IRAN Deadly quakes strike northwest Iran

Date created : 13/08/2012