Quake toll in Iran tops 20,000
Most of historic city is leveled. Toll could hit 20,000
The dead include 5,000 already buried and 20,000 still under the rubble, the report said, citing Iraj Sharifi, an official at the medical faculty in Kerman, north of the quake-devastated city of Bam.
A senior government official told Reuters, "The (death toll) is now more than 20,000." Survivors lit fires to stay warm in the open amid the mass of flattened mud-brick houses. Survivors using their bare hands joined search teams tearing at rubble.
The 6.5 magnitude quake struck Bam at 5:26 a.m. Friday local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by at least one strong aftershock. Among structures that collapsed were two of the city's hospitals, crushing many employees, the official IRNA news service reported, citing Kerman provincial governor general Mohammad-Ali Karimi. Karimi said 60 percent of the city's buildings were destroyed. About 200,000 people live in and around the city.
The Iranian Red Crescent sent rescue teams by helicopter to the region and a transport plane to ferry some of the injured to hospitals in other parts of the country, IRNA said. Communications were cut with two other towns in the area.
The United States pledged to offer humanitarian assistance. Russia and the United Nations have also offered aid. Japan will send an emergency rescue team and equipment worth $230,000 to assist relief operations, the Kyodo news agency reported.
The team will consist of a doctor, a nurse, two Japan International Cooperation Agency workers and a Foreign Ministry official, Kyodo reported, citing government officials it didn't identify. The equipment will be sent within a few days, the report said.
The Silk Road city of Bam, consisting of houses made of mud bricks and the trunks of palm trees, has a fortified citadel constructed 2,000 years ago and other buildings and monuments dating back to the 12th century.
Bam was an important trading post for dates and textiles before falling to Afghan invaders in 1719. Most residents left the ancient walled city in the late 1950s, and it became a museum.
The historic part of the city was surrounded by walls 12 meters high (39.4 feet) and a moat. Almost all of the historic city was destroyed by the earthquake, IRNA said. Pictures broadcast on Iranian state television showed extensive damage throughout the city.
The earthquake is the deadliest since 2001, when more than 20,000 people were killed in India by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that also injured 166,000 and left 600,000 homeless, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Earlier this week, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the central California coast. Two people were killed when a building collapsed in Paso Robles, including a former Utah woman.
Although the earthquake was felt as far away as San Francisco and Los Angeles, damage was limited because that part of California is thinly populated.
Comments
- Cuba acknowledges desertion 11:30 a.m.
- Goosen shoots 63 to lead Scottish 11:29 a.m.
- Boston man begs to repay Brady 11:28 a.m.
- Movsisyan to remain through season 11:22 a.m.
- Teacher faces new sex charges 11:19 a.m.
- Lawmaker: CIA dir. ended program 11:09 a.m.
- Ships ending search for black boxes 11:07 a.m.
- Charger RB wounded in shooting 11:06 a.m.
- Paris Hilton set to take stand 10:52 a.m.
- Papers plan boycott of Britney show 10:50 a.m.
- Jazz talking Boozer trade?
- Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
- Jazz in back of line for free agents
- Okur signs two-year extension
- A primer for the 6th Potter film
- Jazz won't meet Lopez on Europe trip
- Restaurant destroyed by fire
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- Mall owner seeks to retain zoning
- Jazz rally for OT win at Orlando
- Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
140 - Letters: Palin mistreated
137 - Teachers struggle with district cuts
135 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
123 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
116 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Moon landing: Let's hear from you
79 - Chaffetz eyes challenging Bennett
73 - Letters: Single-payer system best
70 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
By now you've probably read about the investigation that showed just how...
The recent Poly camp in Bountiful opened the eyes of recruiters to at...
i am a byu fan but the fact that you were the first post on the article does...
How about this current modern Mormon Myth that every University of Utah...
Most bloggers on the DN site are all for deportations, prosecuting federal...
"CIA Director Leon Panetta has terminated a "very serious" covert program the...
BYU was a lot closer to losing to CSU and UNLV than Utah was last season......
The myth that I remember the most was that Brigham Young used a secret and...
Sae is the man!
So, now CIA Director is now admitting Congress was told lies during the Bush...
@ Joe: if you really wanted to fix your grammar you would say... being in a...
Good news isn't reported everyday. If Boozer leaves and Thomas comes to Utah...



You can be the first to comment on this story.