6.1 magnitude quake strikes near Iranian city of Bushehr; nuclear plant not affected

TEHRAN,April 10(MNA) – An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale on Tuesday struck near the Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant. According to the initial official reports, at least 30 people were killed and 800 others were injured in the quake. The earthquake struck at 4:22 p.m. local time at a depth of 12 km, the Iranian Seismological Center reported. The epicenter of the quake was the city of Kaki, which is located some 97 km south of the city of Bushehr. “The quake has not created any problem for the Bushehr nuclear power plant” as it is some 160 km away from the epicenter of the quake, Mahmoud Jafari, an official at the plant, told . The U.S. Geological Survey said that the quake had a magnitude of 6.3 and struck at a depth of 10 km. Reuters witnesses felt the quake in Dubai. The quake was followed by a number of aftershocks, the strongest of which was 5.3 in magnitude.