Deadly earthquake hits Iraq and Iran, killing more than 400

CAIRO – 13 November 2017: More than 400 people were killed in Iran when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted the country, state media said on Monday of the deadliest earthquake in over a decade.

State television said more than 407 people were killed and at least 6,600 were injured. Local officials said that the death toll would rise as search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran, according to Reuters.

Rescue teams look for survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings
Rescuers were searching for dozens trapped under rubble in the mountainous area. At least eight have died in neighboring Iraq as well.

Most people who died were in Western Iran, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, a town 15km from the border, and other parts of Kermanshah province, BBC reported.

Iranian state television said that the quake had caused heavy damage in some villages where houses were made of earthen bricks. The quake also triggered landslides that hindered rescue efforts, officials told state television. At least 14 provinces in Iran have been affected, Iranian media reported, according to Reuters.

Many volunteers jointly engaged with the rescue team to carry the injured individuals to hospitals, as well as looking for the survivors under the rubble of devastated buildings.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini offered his condolences on Monday, urging government agencies to do all they could to help those affected. State TV called for blood donations, according to Reuters.

A woman and her baby were pulled alive from rubble in the town, BBC cited Iranian media.

People with need for shelters
One aid agency said that 70,000 people needed shelter after the quake, and there were reports that thousands of people were facing a second night with no shelter in the cold, BBC reported.

Losses in Iraq
In Iraq, nine have died, a Red Crescent spokesman told the BBC. A UN office in Iraq said more than 500 people were injured there and the earthquake was felt in Irbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk and Basra as well as the capital, Baghdad.


Residents look at a damaged building following an earthquake in the town of Darbandikhan, near the city of Sulaimaniyah, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iraq November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed


Collapsed building is seen in the town of Darbandikhan, near the city of Sulaimaniyah, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iraq November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed