A strong earthquake shook central and northern Iran yesterday, killing at least 23 people some buried by landslides on a mountain road and seriously damaging more than 80 villages, the Interior Ministry and state-run media said.
More than 100 others were reported injured by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, which struck at 5:08 p.m. and was centered about 45 miles north of Tehran, the US Geological Survey said.
Eight provinces in central and northern Iran were affected by the temblor, with the worst-damaged villages near Alamout, about 80 miles west of Tehran, Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhah Khanjani told The Associated Press.
The quake unleashed landslides and falling boulders that killed 16 people and injured 70 others by burying them in their cars along the mountainous Tehran-Chalous road, state-run television reported.
Five people were killed in Mazandaran province and two in Qazvin province, Tehran radio said. The quake also damaged homes, buildings and telephone lines in the region.
In Tehran, the quake broke windows in parts of the city, causing panicked residents to rush outdoors. As midnight approached, many families were still in the streets or parks, planning to spend the night outdoors for fear of aftershocks.
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. A December earthquake in Bam, in southeastern Iran, measured 6.6 magnitude and killed 26,000 people.