Earthquake near Iran nuclear plant kills 7

An earthquake measuring 5.6 magnitude struck Iran. The tremors struck Gulf coast near Iran`s sole nuclear power plant killed 7 and injured 30, emergency response chief Hassan Qadami told state media.

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.