According to AP, citing an emergency official, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in northwestern Iran killed at least 5 people and injured 300 others. Earlier media reports have put the death toll at 3 persons, while suggesting that only 20 people were injured.
The magnitude of the tremors was later downgraded by the EMSC to 5.6, while the initial report suggested that the northwestern region of Iran had been hit by a more powerful quake.
The epicenter of the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.0, was located some 65 km (40 miles) of Herowabad.
Iran is located in a seismically active zone and often suffers from powerful earthquakes. In November 2018, a disastrous 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Iran’s border with Iraq leaving hundreds killed and injured.
In 1990, a 7.4-magnitude quake in northern Iran killed some 40,000 people, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.
