Zee Media Bureau
Tehran: An earthquake measuring 5.6 magnitude struck Iran on Thursday, the US Geological Survey reported. The tremors that struck the Gulf coast near Iran`s sole nuclear power plant killed seven people and injured 30, emergency response chief Hassan Qadami told state media.
The epicenter of the quake, at a depth of 16 kilometres, was near Borazjan, around 60 kms (35 miles) from Bushehr, where Iran has its Russian-built reactor.
"So far, there are seven dead and 30 injured receiving hospital treatment," the official IRNA news agency quoted Qadami as saying.
Iran stands on several seismic fault lines. A massive quake in December 2003 struck the southern city of Bam, killing 26,000 people and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.
Iran`s Arab neighbours across the Gulf have often raised concern over the reliability of the Bushehr plant and the risks of radioactive leaks in case of a major quake.
But Iran and Russia insist it respects international standards under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.
