Tehran, June 22: A devastating earthquake rocked Iran early this morning killing more than 500 people and left over 2000 injured and nearly 1500 homeless. The quake, which measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale, struck at 7:28 am (8:28 am IST) and jolted a string of villages flattening several of them in eight northwestern Iranian provinces, Qazvin being the worst hit.

The number of casualties is rising with every passing moment, Iran`s official news agency IRNA quoted a local official as saying.

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The tremor was followed by 21 aftershocks, three of which exceeded 4.0 degrees in intensity which were also felt in the capital Tehran, some 200 km to the east.

The quake hit the northern, central and western provinces of Gilan, Tehran, Kurdestan, Qazvin, Zanjan and Hamedan where panic-stricken residents rushed out of their homes. The governor of Bouynzahra in Qazvin province, Ali Moussavi, said the quake killed more than 441 people and injured over 1,159 others in the districts of Avaj and Abgarm. Bouynzahra is 60 km southwest of Qazvin city, the provincial capital.

"There are a lot of injured people. All the hospitals are full," IRNA reported.

Rescue teams and relief workers have rushed to the stricken areas.

President Mohammad Khatami ordered relief operations on a warfooting and directed interior minister Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari to "use all means with the coordination of state machinery" to organise relief and rescue in the quake-hit areas of Qazvin and Hamedan.
Iran`s state TV broadcast images of the quake ravaged regions showing dust-covered inhabitants in the Bouynzahra district of Avaj sitting amidst the ruins of their houses.

Many building and homes were entirely destroyed by the quake, the report said

While IRNA reported that six villages in the Bouynzahra district of Avaj were "completely destroyed," state TV said 52 villages in Avaj had suffered damage to between 50 percent and 100 percent of their buildings.

Ten villages in Razan and three villages in Kabutarahag in Hamedan province suffered damage of between 50 and 70 percent. Local rescue authorities feared that the number of injured could be very high though exact figures were not available.
Bureau Report