BREAKING: 6.4 and 6.3 strong quakes have shaken Iran - 87 people dead and over 400 injured

87 dead and hundreds injured after two quakes strike Iran - State TV

Press TV video shot

Two strong quakes have shaken Iran's northwest, leaving 87 people dead and over 400 injured, according to the country's state television. The quakes have also disrupted communications, complicating rescue efforts.

The quakes, measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck near the towns of Tabriz and Ahar. However, most of the dead are thought to be in the surrounding villages.

"Our access to villages have been cut and we can only contact them by radio transceiver," Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of Iran's Rescue and Relief Organisation, told the Mehr news agency. He added that "helicopters and rescuers are on their way to villages."

Iran's main news channel said the quake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province at 4:53 p.m. local time (12:23 GMT ), AP reports.

The TV quoted the local Crisis Committee chief as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 17 others in Haris.

State channel Press TV puts the number of dead at over 30, while Reuters reports at least 40 people have been killed.

A spokesman for Tabriz's fire department told the ISNA news agency that "most parts of Tabriz have no electricity… and there is a heavy traffic jam in the city."

"Sixty villages… have been heavily damaged and are in need of help," Abbas Fallah, a lawmaker in the hard-hit town of Ahar, told local reporters.

Meanwhile, the main Iranian TV channel said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent, while 4 other villages have been totally leveled to the ground.

The tremors were felt in neighboring Azerbaijan, according to the local Seismology Institute, but no casualties have been reported.

Iran is generally susceptible to earthquakes, being situated on seismic fault lines. Tremors hit the country every day, but the majority of them are so insignificant that they go unnoticed.

The deadliest was a 6.6-magnitude quake which struck the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people – about a quarter of the population – and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.

Press TV video shot

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Comment by Jim Braun on August 11, 2012 at 9:24pm: For sure mystery. The illuminati have a plan and they are putting it to work. The purpose is population elimination.someplace I read said, profit over people,no people no profit! Boy,that's messed up. they have been using HAARP for some time now,and like the BP oil thing in the Gulf,they are screwing things up high. Try this,YOUTUBE "SECRET UNDERGROUND BASE OFFICER SPEAKS OUT' AND "Biblical Prophecies unsealed" This say a lot.

Comment by Misteri on August 11, 2012 at 6:28pm: I have been screaming about the HARRP for months. It has been causing a lot of earthquakes, but only at the hands of the upper crust. It maybe smoke and mirrors to distract from the real intent, while all eyes are looking at this and dealing with it, they maybe moving into position to make a dramatic move elsewhere.

Comment by Jim Braun on August 11, 2012 at 5:26pm: There are fault lines that run through Iran,Tehran sits on top of one.Haarp have something to do with this? Maybe. Haarp is damaging the Ionosphere causing holes that protect us. We have so much stuff coming our way both astronomical and geophysical as well as home grown things brought on by the gov. Just look at the police, and the terror they are putting on us . Besides the gov., I see the police as the domestic terrorist. It's like a police pandemic. I again say,these animals have homes with families. They make it right to recieve what they dish out.