Nadda hails Modi’s northeast integration efforts
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the loss of lives in the devastating earthquake near Iran-Iraq border that has so far claimed the lives of 207 people.
In a tweet Modi said: “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones in the tragic earthquake that has affected parts of Iran and Iraq. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest.”
At least 207 people were killed after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck an area near the Iran-Iraq border.
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Iranian Deputy Health Minister Qasem Jan Babaie told the media that the number of casualties was likely to rise, adding that at least 1,600 people were injured, reports Efe news.
Rescue teams were continuing to search for survivors of the quake which struck at 9.20 p.m. on Sunday, near the town of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the northeastern border with Iran, at a depth of 33.9 km, according to the US Geological Survey.
Some 30 aftershocks, including some of magnitude-4.5, were felt in several Iranian provinces, including Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Hamedan, western and eastern Azerbaijan, and in capital Tehran.
Tremors were also felt in Turkey, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major fault lines that cover at least 90 per cent of the country. As a result, destructive earthquakes in Iran occur constantly.
An earthquake in the city of Bam in December 2003 killed 26,000 people.
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