250 people had been injured following a strong earthquake that hit the town of Murmuri in western Iran on Monday, the chief of the crisis committee for the area Ahmad Karamisaid said.

State television placed the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.2, while the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors quakes worldwide, earlier placed it at 6.3, Agence France-Presse reported.

Infographic: Iran earthquake

Infographic: Iran earthquake

Mohammad Reza Morvarid, the local governor, said 60 people were injured and that because minor quakes were felt in the area on Sunday, the residents were somewhat prepared.

"Many people slept outdoors," Morvarid said, adding that "many buildings have been damaged."

"Fortunately there have been no reports of deaths so far but there have been injuries and a great deal of material damage," a Red Cross official told Iranian state television.

The quake hit Murmuri, about 500 kilometers from Tehran, at a depth of 10 kilometers at 02:32 GMT, according to the channel. IRNA state news agency earlier reported the quake to be a 6.1.

State television footage showed destroyed houses, buildings and cars in the city. Aftershocks could be felt in three provinces including Ilam, Lorestan and Khuzestan, IRNA state news agency said.



Iran sits on a series of seismic fault lines and experiences one slight quake a day on average.



In April last year, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Iran and neighboring Pakistan, killing 40 people.

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

(With AFP)

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:42 - GMT 06:42