Two Villages Completely Destroyed By Quake In Bushehr Province

Tehran, April 10, IRNA – Official in charge of control and coordinating rescue operations at Iranˈs Red Crescent Society Morteza Moradpour said on Tuesday that two villages near the city of Khurmoj in Bushehr province were completely destroyed by the quake. Shanbe village with the population of 1,746 inhabitants and Sana village with the population of 1,253 people were severely damaged, he said. The assessment teams are currently at the quake hit areas to coordinate rescue operations. Rescue teams are racing against time in the quake areas of Bushehr province. Helicopters have airlifted relief workers from nearby provinces to help the local rescue teams. A devastating earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale ruined the epicenter, the city of Kaki, 60 miles from Bushehr on Tuesday. According to seismological base of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the quake occurred at 16:22 hours local time (1252 GMT). The quake was epicentered in an area located at 28.48 degrees latitude and 51.58 degrees longitude./end