At Least 22 Dead as Quake Rocks Iran’s Caspian Region

A powerful earthquake hit Iran’s Caspian seacoast early today, killing at least 22 people and burying others beneath the rubble of fallen buildings, official news media reported.

Main highways to the Caspian region were blocked by landslides, Tehran Radio said.

The radio reported “a lot of damage and casualties” including at least 20 dead and 150 injured in Rasht, a city of 300,000 people 150 miles northwest of Tehran.

The official news agency IRNA said two people were killed and 25 injured in Zanjan, a city 80 miles inland from the Caspian.

Tehran radio said a number of buildings collapsed in Rasht and rescue teams were working to save people from the rubble. IRNA said at least six had been pulled out and were being treated in hospitals.

Buildings shook and windows broke in Tehran, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage in the capital.

In Golden, Colo., the U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.7 magnitude quake’s epicenter was 210 miles northwest of Tehran and 160 miles south of Baku, capital of the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.