TurkmenPost

Three strong earthquakes and several aftershocks jolted western Iran overnight, killing at least 66 people and injuring about 1,200 others, state television reported Friday.

The initial quake of magnitude 4.7 struck a mountainous region in western Iran late Thursday. It was followed by a quake of magnitude 5.1 that struck Boroujerd and Doroud, two industrial cities in western Iran, at 11:06 p.m. local time Thursday, state television said.

A third temblor of magnitude 6.0 hit Doroud and surrounding villages at 4:47 a.m. local time on Friday, the television reported.

A total of 66 bodies had been recovered from houses in destroyed in Silakhor, a region north of Doroud, the television reported.

200 villages damaged

The provincial head of the Unexpected Disaster Committee, Ali Barani, said no fewer than 200 villages were damaged, and some were flattened.

Most of the 1,200 people injured had been in bed when the quake struck, the television said.

The quake in the middle of the night caused panic, with citizens in Doroud running out of their homes. Many spent the night in open space, residents said.

"We are afraid to get back home. I spent the night with my family and guests in open space last night," Doroud resident Mahmoud Chaharmiri told The Associated Press by telephone.

Twelve aftershocks were registered after the first quake, said Nabi Bidhendi, the head of Tehran Tehran University’s Geophysics Institute.

The epicenter of Thursday night’s quake was in the mountains south of Boroujerd and north of Doroud.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.7-magnitude quake at 4:47 a.m., followed by a 4.7-magnitude 15 minutes later. Their epicenters were 210 miles southwest of Tehran.

The area had been hit by a 4.7-magnitude quake the day before, the USGS said.

via msnbc.