Death toll from Iran quakes rises to 300

TABRIZ, Iran, Aug. 13 (MNA) – About 300 people have died and more than 2000 have been injured in two successive earthquakes that hit the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan on Saturday afternoon, local officials said on Sunday. According to the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran, a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit the city of Ahar at 4:53 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers, and a 6 magnitude quake struck the city of Varzaqan at 5:04 p.m. local time at the same depth. Of the 538 villages in East Azerbaijan, 110 villages sustained about 40 to 100 percent damage. And about 5000 buildings have been damaged. Rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the quake-stricken areas, and the people affected by the earthquakes have been provided with temporary shelters and food supplies.