World

Iran-Iraq border earthquake is deadliest of 2017

November 13, 2017 3:43 pm

A huge rescue effort is under way after a powerful earthquake struck Iran’s mountainous border with Iraq, killing more than 400 people and injuring more than 7,000.

Teams are looking for survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The quake is the deadliest in the world this year.

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Most people who died were in western Iran – in Sarpol-e-Zahab, a town 15km (10 miles) from the border, and other parts of Kermanshah province.

The town’s main hospital was severely damaged, leaving it struggling to treat hundreds of wounded, state TV reported.

A woman and her baby were pulled alive from rubble in the town, Iranian media said.

Amateur video posted to Twitter by a radio station appeared to show that many buildings in the town had collapsed.

Running water and electricity cut out in some cities, and after buildings collapsed people were forced to spend hours outdoors in parks or streets in cold weather.

Many homes in the predominantly Kurdish mountainous area are made of mud bricks and are vulnerable in quakes as large as Sunday’s.