Iran quakes death toll rises to 250, as search goes on

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Rescuers in Iran are searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors from two strong earthquakes which left at least 250 people dead.

The 6.4 and 6.3 quakes struck near Tabriz and Ahar on Saturday afternoon, and more than 1,800 are believed injured, many in outlying villages.

Thousands have been spending the night in emergency shelters or in the open.

Relief agencies are trying to provide the survivors with tents, bread and drinking water.

Reports say phone lines to many villages have been cut off, confining rescuers to radio contact and, analysts said, probably masking the true scale of casualties.

“The quake has created huge panic among the people,” one resident of Tabriz told the BBC. “Everyone has rushed to the streets and the sirens of ambulances are everywhere.”

The towns of Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province in north-western Iran were among those that suffered casualties, local crisis committee chief Khalil Saei told state TV according to the Associated Press.

State TV said at least six villages were totally flattened, with 60 other villages sustaining damage ranging from 50% to 80%.

‘My family is terrified’

One of the six villages that were flattened by the quake

Dozens of rescue workers have been sent to the region, but relief efforts have been limited overnight.

“Unfortunately there are still a number of people trapped in the rubble but finding them is very difficult because of the darkness,” news agency Fars quoted national emergency head Gholam Reza Masoumi as saying.

Almost all deaths seem to have been confined to rural areas, local disaster officials said – probably because buildings in the cities are more sturdily constructed.

An Iranian Red Crescent official estimated that 16,000 people had been given emergency shelter after they were forced to leave their homes.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s office posted a statement on its website expressing condolences to those in the disaster zone and calling on authorities to “mobilise all efforts to help the affected populations,” the AFP news agency reports.

A provincial official has warned people in the region to stay outdoors overnight because of the risk of aftershocks.

My family is really terrified. It is night time now but we cannot sleep,” Tabriz resident Amina Zia told the BBC.

“This earthquake was… very strong and violent.

“There were around 10 aftershocks, which lasted a total of 10 minutes.”

The second earthquake struck just 11 minutes after the first, said the US Geological Survey.

Iran straddles a major geological fault line, making it prone to seismic activity. In 2003 an earthquake in the city of Bam left 25,000 people dead.

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30 responses to “Iran quakes death toll rises to 250, as search goes on”

  1. bs244846 Avatar

    I see this chain is happy that the death toll increased in Iran lol…funny guys…am still waiting for the kharakiri (in saoudi arapic said hariri but since they are suicidal bombers for khara hence the pseudo…similar to the noble japanese hara kiri except that in case of kharahiri and muslum botherhood it has nothing noble justy khara bi khara)supporters to come and express their gayness…what most people dont know is that the mossad is behind this chain and allows people to talk freely so that they know who is who hahahahaha

  2. bs244846 Avatar

    I see this chain is happy that the death toll increased in Iran lol…funny guys…am still waiting for the kharakiri (in saoudi arapic said hariri but since they are suicidal bombers for khara hence the pseudo…similar to the noble japanese hara kiri except that in case of kharahiri and muslum botherhood it has nothing noble justy khara bi khara)supporters to come and express their gayness…what most people dont know is that the mossad is behind this chain and allows people to talk freely so that they know who is who hahahahaha

  3. bs244846 Avatar

    btw many of the writers in this blog are mossad whether they support hizbollah or kharakiri just to incite people and you can smell them from far

  4. bs244846 Avatar

    btw many of the writers in this blog are mossad whether they support hizbollah or kharakiri just to incite people and you can smell them from far

  5. MeYosemite Avatar
    MeYosemite

    Iran needs to put their money on better housing instead of military.

    1. bs244846 Avatar

      iran is just one american pawn…in order to understand american dynamics look at this: america will use you whether you claim to be its friend or its foe…even if you want to fight america, still america will give you weapons and make use of you…proamerican or antiamerican, you play the american card and nothing happens if america does not want it…all of this is planned and programmed in the white house and by the CIA…the end result is well known…the more you have people who bark like yazidi, the more america is happy….i say the middle east would have governed the world if we remove sunnaism salafism and wahhabis….btw they will go back to camels soon by americas will inshallah

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        Well, I see good old BS has resurfaced ….

        1. bs244846 Avatar

          i see you look happy to see me back….i never left….does your nick translate the arabic “TABOUR KHAMESS”? LOL

      2. bs 244846 is that a password for your dum head…your black hate is like safihi face your dream wilayet safihi will never come true becaue your race of nifaq will loose

        1. yalibnan Avatar

          This is to remind you  of Ya Libnan policy of  respecting the community. Comments that contain personal attacks or inappropriate language will be removed.

        2. bs244846 Avatar

          yatizi….i hate nobody but i cannot love people or animals who want to kill me just because i am not a salafi or hariri or wahhabi and be sure i will make all possible to make them become “KHABAR KANA” and wa man ya3esh yara

      3. bs 244846 is that a password for your dum head…your black hate is like safihi face your dream wilayet safihi will never come true becaue your race of nifaq will loose

  6. MeYosemite Avatar
    MeYosemite

    Iran needs to put their money on better housing instead of military.

    1. bs244846 Avatar

      iran is just one american pawn…in order to understand american dynamics look at this: america will use you whether you claim to be its friend or its foe…even if you want to fight america, still america will give you weapons and make use of you…proamerican or antiamerican, you play the american card and nothing happens if america does not want it…all of this is planned and programmed in the white house and by the CIA…the end result is well known…the more you have people who bark like yazidi, the more america is happy….i say the middle east would have governed the world if we remove sunnaism salafism and wahhabis….btw they will go back to camels soon by americas will inshallah

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        Well, I see good old BS has resurfaced ….

        1. bs244846 Avatar

          i see you look happy to see me back….i never left….does your nick translate the arabic “TABOUR KHAMESS”? LOL

      2. bs 244846 is that a password for your dum head…your black hate is like safihi face your dream wilayet safihi will never come true becaue your race of nifaq will loose

        1. yalibnan Avatar

          This is to remind you  of Ya Libnan policy of  respecting the community. Comments that contain personal attacks or inappropriate language will be removed.

        2. bs244846 Avatar

          yatizi….i hate nobody but i cannot love people or animals who want to kill me just because i am not a salafi or hariri or wahhabi and be sure i will make all possible to make them become “KHABAR KANA” and wa man ya3esh yara

  7. oh people do you think iran spending money on military to fight usa or israeal….the aim is the sunni moslem country..and to spread the nifaq among them and they will spend it ..and it will comes back on them…look what they doing in syria,lebanon, iraq,hezboshytan..and the list will go on an on…these faqihi race have an old black hate and it will never end!! they are the real terrorism source

    1. Moe2000 Avatar

      We will find out won’t we…. We will see who will fight Israel and who is the nifaq Israeli puppet be patient and lets see who Israel will hit and who attacks back on all the Zionist bases in the middle east.

    2. Moe2000 Avatar

      We will find out won’t we…. We will see who will fight Israel and who is the nifaq Israeli puppet be patient and lets see who Israel will hit and who attacks back on all the Zionist bases in the middle east.

  8. oh people do you think iran spending money on military to fight usa or israeal….the aim is the sunni moslem country..and to spread the nifaq among them and they will spend it ..and it will comes back on them…look what they doing in syria,lebanon, iraq,hezboshytan..and the list will go on an on…these faqihi race have an old black hate and it will never end!! they are the real terrorism source

    1. Moe2000 Avatar

      We will find out won’t we…. We will see who will fight Israel and who is the nifaq Israeli puppet be patient and lets see who Israel will hit and who attacks back on all the Zionist bases in the middle east.

  9. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Another country building Nuclear Disaster on geological fault lines … such wisdom when they have so much free sun from the Sun-God.

    1. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      they actaully use alot of solar energy.. the two things are not mutually exclusive

  10. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Another country building Nuclear Disaster on geological fault lines … such wisdom when they have so much free sun from the Sun-God.

    1. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      they actaully use alot of solar energy.. the two things are not mutually exclusive

  11. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Another country building Nuclear Disaster on geological fault lines … such wisdom when they have so much free sun from the Sun-God.

    1. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      they actaully use alot of solar energy.. the two things are not mutually exlcusive

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