A strong earthquake early Saturday in southern Iran caused at least five deaths while wounding 19 more, the state news agency IRNA reported.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 6.0 magnitude quake hit 100 kilometres southwest of the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province. The quake struck just a minute after a 5.7 tremor.
Hormozgan governor Mahdi Dosti said the quakes killed five people and injured 19 others, IRNA reported.
Dosti said most of the damage occurred in the village of Sayeh Khost, close to the epicentre.
Last year Hormozgan province was hit by twin 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes. One person was killed in November.
Iran’s deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor that struck in 1990, killing 40,000 people in the north of the country.
