Relief aides still at work in Iran

needs of the people in the affected areas.
“Although identification and search for the victims is (sic) finished, the emergency squads are still in the crisis-hit areas and are providing service to the people, specially those injured in the quake,” Head of Iran’s Emergency Centre Gholamreza Ma’soumi said yesterday.
He announced that the number of wounded people in Ahar and Varzaqan passed 2 000 yesterday morning, adding that 945 of them were in hospitals receiving treatment.
Meantime, spokesman of the Relief and Rescue Organisation of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Hossein Derakhshan said 5 626 tents have been allocated for temporary settlement of the people in the affected areas.
Thousands of people are staying outdoors due to house damage or fear of after-shocks. At least 35 after-shocks had occurred in the region.
An earthquake measuring 6,2 on the Richter scale jolted Ahar in East Azerbaijan province at 1130GMT on Saturday.
The epicentre of the quake was located in an area 46,8 degrees in longitude and 38,4 degrees in latitude.
Almost an hour later another quake with a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale jolted Varzaqan at 1234GMT in the same province.
The epicentre of the quake was located in an area 46,7 degrees in longitude and 38,4 degrees in latitude.
Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Hassan Qaddami told FNA yesterday that the two earthquakes had killed 250 people.
“110 villages have been damaged,” he stated.
According to provincial officials, four villages have been destroyed completely, while 60 others have sustained damage from 50 to 80 percent in Ahar region.
Local officials also said that 12 villages in Varzaqan region were destroyed completely.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has conveyed condolences to his Iranian counter-part Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the losses of life inflicted by two strong earthquakes on Saturday, the Kremlin press service said yesterday.
Putin expressed his profound sympathy to the victims of the disaster, saying that Russia is ready to provide necessary support and aid to the quake-hit country, according to the Kremlin.
Being crossed by several major fault lines, Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. — FNA/Xinhua.