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Magnitude 5.9 Quake Injures Nearly 130 in Western Iran

by Reuters

   DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES --

   A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit western Iran on Sunday, injuring at
   least 128 people, hours after two quakes struck Hormozgan province in
   the south, state television reported.
   Houshang Bazvand, governor of the western province of Kermanshah, said
   that most of the 128 who received treatment did not require
   hospitalization, the television station added.
   State media said that two earlier earthquakes, with magnitudes of 4.7
   and 5.7, had damaged buildings in a few villages without causing
   casualties.
   Morteza Salimi, head of rescue at Iran's Red Crescent, said that damage
   from the two earlier quakes appeared to be light.
   "Reports indicate that some walls have collapsed, but extensive damage
   has not been reported," Salimi told official news agency IRNA.
   Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered
   several devastating earthquakes in recent years. Last November, a
   magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit western Kermanshah province, killing at
   least 620 people and injuring thousands.