RT:

Two strong quakes have shaken Iran’s northwest, leaving 180 people dead and more than 1,300 injured, Iranian officials say. The quakes have also disrupted communications, complicating rescue efforts.

The quakes, measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck near the towns of Tabriz and Ahar in the East Azerbaijan province. However, most of the dead are thought to be in the surrounding villages.

Casualty numbers may rise, officials warn as rescue workers are yet to reach some of the affected areas. “Our access to villages have been cut and we can only contact them by radio transceiver,” Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of Iran’s Rescue and Relief Organisation, told the Mehr news agency. He added that “helicopters and rescuers are on their way to villages.”

The head of East Azarbaijan’s Crisis Management Khalil Saei said that 180 people have been killed and over 1350 more have been wounded by the disaster, FARS news agency reports.

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