Quake jolts southern Iran

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the port city of Khamir and nearby villages in the southern Iranian province of Hormuzgan on Saturday morning, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The seismological base of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University said that the quake occurred at 10:45 a.m. (0715 GMT), according to the report.

There was no immediate report of any casualties.

On Nov. 27, 2005, a quake with a magnitude of about 5.0 hit Iran's island of Qeshm in the Gulf. At least 10 people were killed and 80 others wounded.

Saturday's quake can also be felt in Qeshm, said IRNA.

Iran, sitting on active seismic fault lines, is often hit by quakes of varying magnitudes.

In December 2003, more than 31,000 people were killed in a massive earthquake in the ancient city of Bam.

Source: Xinhua