Latest reports from Eastern Azerbaijan Province indicate that the number of fatalities from the earthquake that shook the province Saturday afternoon has now reached 250.
As search and rescue operations continue, head of Iran’s National Emergency Operations announced that some people are still trapped under the rubble but nightfall is impeding their rescue efforts.
The most recent reports regarding the wounded indicate 1,800 people are now being treated for injuries sustained in the earthquake.
City of Ahar was hit by a magnitude 6.2 and Varzaghan by a magnitude 6 earthquake on Saturday around 5 in the afternoon local time.
Fars News Agency reports that Tehran University Seismology Centre reported that until 1:45 Sunday morning, 40 aftershocks continued to shake Eastern Azerbaijan Province.
An aftershock of 4.8 magnitude was registered in Varzaghan and its tremors were still felt in Tabriz, the capital of the province. Varzaghan is now under complete power outage and faced with shortage of food and medicine.
The villages and townships between Ahar and Varzaghan with a total of 25 thousand people are said to have been heavily destroyed by the earthquake.
Head of National Emergency Operations announced that hospitals in the three provinces of Eastern and Western Azerbaijan and Ardebil are on alert to take care of victims of today’s disaster.
