TEHRAN, Iran – A young girl was killed and two people were wounded in an 5.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted southern Iran on Saturday, authorities said.
"A four-year old girl died under the rubble after an old wall was destroyed by the quake in the island of Qeshm," said Masoud Dalman, the head of emergency services in the Hormozgan province where the quake's epicenter was located. He said two more people were injured on the island.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the quake occurred at 10:45 a.m. local time and was felt in the port town of Khamir, 932 miles south east of the capital, Tehran. It was followed by a 4.1 aftershock at 11:07.
"The earthquake left no casualties and damage in Khamir. However, rescue teams have been deployed to remote rural areas to inspect probable damage," Hooshang Azan, governor of Khamir, told the Associated Press on the telephone.
The epicenter of Saturday's quake was in Bandar Pol, a sparsely populated area near Khamir, on the bank of a minor strait between Iran's mainland and the island of Qeshm.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had reached a 5.4 magnitude, with a 4.5-magnitude aftershock.
Qeshm Island, in theStrait of Hormuz, was previously hit by a magnitude-5.9 quake in November last year that killed 10 people and injured 70.
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one slight earthquake everyday on average.
In March, three strong earthquakes and several aftershocks jolted western Iran overnight, killing at least 66 people.
In February last year, a 6.4-magnitude quake rocked the town of Zarand in southern Iran, killing 612 people and injuring more than 1,400.
Some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6-magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam in the same region in 2003.
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