More than 400 die in Iran-Iraq quake horror

Emergency: Hundreds injured in 7.3 magnitude earthquake

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the Iraq-Iran border has killed more than 400 people and sent residents fleeing their homes into the night, authorities said.

Iran’s western Kermanshah province bore the brunt of the quake on Sunday night, with authorities saying the quake killed 407 people in the country and injured 6,700.

Kermanshah is a rural, mountainous region where residents rely mainly on farming.

In Iraq, the earthquake killed at least seven people and injured 535, all in the country’s northern Kurdish region, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry.

The quake was centred 19 miles (31km) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the US Geological Survey.

It struck at 9.48pm Iran time, just as people began retiring for the night.

It could be felt on the Mediterranean coast, some 660 miles (1,000km) away.

The earthquake struck 23.2km (14.4 miles) below the surface, a shallow depth that can amplify damage.

Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes. More than 100 aftershocks followed.

The quake’s worst damage appeared to be in the town of Sarpol-e-Zahab in Kermanshah province, which sits in the Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq. Kokab Fard, a 49-year-old housewife in Sarpol-e-Zahab, said she fled empty-handed when her apartment complex collapsed.

“Immediately after I managed to get out, the building collapsed,” she said. “I have no access to my belongings.”

Residents said the power and water were out and telephone and mobile phone lines were unreliable.

“Immediately I managed to get out the building collapsed”

SURVIVORS: Residents in Sarpol-e-Zahab sit in front of ruined homes