5.9 quake injures 128 in western Iran

DUBAI’ A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit western Iran on Sunday, injuring at least 128 people, hours after two quakes struck Hormozgan province in the south, state television reported. Houshang Bazvand, governor of the western province of Kermanshah, said that most of the 128 who received treatment did not require hospitalisation, the television station added. State media said that two earlier earthquakes, with magnitudes of 4.7 and 5.7, had damaged buildings in a few villages without causing casualties. Morteza Salimi, head of rescue at Iran’s Red Crescent, said that damage from the two earlier quakes appeared to be light. “Reports indicate that some walls have collapsed, but extensive damage has not been reported,” Salimi told official news agency IRNA. Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years. Last November, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit western Kermanshah province, killing at least 620 people and injuring thousands.