Iran says 30 killed in earthquake in south, nuclear plant undamaged

TEHRAN, Iran — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 30 and injured 650 people in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran, state TV reported on Tuesday. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region.

The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.

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“No damage was done to Bushehr power plant,” Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV.

Some 650 people were taken to local hospitals, mostly with slight injuries, and water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh.

Shahpour Rostami, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, told state TV that rescue teams have been deployed to Shonbeh. Three helicopters were sent to survey the damaged area before sunset, said Mohammad Mozaffar, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent rescue department.

Kaki resident Mondani Hosseini told The Associated Press that people had run out into the streets out of fear.

Iran also announced three-day mourning in the country.

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where workers were evacuated from high-rise buildings as a precaution.

Earlier on Sunday a lighter earthquake jolted the nearby area. Iran is located on seismic faults and it experiences frequent earthquakes.

In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.

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