The toll in Sunday’s earthquake in western Iran rose to at least 530 on Tuesday, state-owned news agency Irna reported, even as thousands of survivors battled cold weather outdoors with temperatures close to the freezing point. The number of those injured has risen to over 7,800.
President Hassan Rouhani visited the Kermanshah province earlier in the day, and said state-built houses suffered more damage, and those responsible would be held accountable, BBC reported.
At least 13 people were killed in Iraq, and hundreds injured.
Iran’s Emergency Medical Services has finished rescue operations in the areas in the Kermanshah province that were hit by the powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Sunday night.
There have been nearly 200 aftershocks since the quake struck regions along the border with Iraq. At least 14 provinces in Iran were hit, but Kermanshah was the worst affected. At least two villages were completely destroyed.
The earthquake struck around 9.20 pm on Sunday night, with its epicenter in Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah province in the northern Kurdish region.
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