“Five people died in the earthquake … and so far 12 are hospitalized,” Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of emergency management in Hormozgan province on Iran’s Gulf coast, told state television. “Rescue operations have been carried out and we are now providing tents as emergency accommodation.” State news agency Irna said a magnitude 6.3 earthquake and a magnitude 6.1 quake followed the 6.1 quake that leveled the village of Sayeh Khosh near Iran’s Gulf coast. There were more than a dozen aftershocks. “All the victims died in the first earthquake and no one was injured in the next two strong earthquakes, as people were already outside their homes,” said Foad Moranzade, governor of Bandar Lenge, according to Irna. Large geological faults run through Iran, which has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and leveled the ancient city of Bam.
