Strong quakes hit Oman and Iran in early hours causing damage

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf nation of Oman on Saturday near the northern city of Al Khasab, the U.S. Geological Survey reported before another earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hit southern Iran.

Several injuries and damaged villages were reported in Iran, as the epicenter of the quake was measured at 85 kilometers southeast of the southern town of Minab at 0208 GMT, the USGS said in a statement cited by Reuters news agency.

The quake which struck Oman had a depth of 33 kilometers and was centered 186 kilometers east of al Khasab, the agency said.

Damage is yet to be reported in Oman.

Meanwhile in Iran, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent rescue corps Mahmoud Mozafar told the Fars news agency that at least 11 people had been injured in five villages which were “severely” hit by the quake.

The Mehr news agency, quoted him as saying that “several houses were leveled” based on preliminary reports.

Iran’s Seismological Centre has registered a series of aftershocks, measuring between 4.1 and 5.2, according to AFP.

The quakes follow tremors last month, when the biggest earthquake to hit the country in 50 years, measuring 7.8, killed a woman and injured more than a dozen other people in the southeast.

At least 40 people were killed across the border in Pakistan where hundreds of mud homes were leveled and tremors were felt across Gulf states.

A double earthquake, one measuring 6.2 and the other 6.0, struck northwestern Iran last August, killing more than 300 people and injuring 3,000.