Update: Nuclear power plant earthquake in Iran kills 7 injures 45

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake on the Gulf coast near Iran’s sole nuclear power plant killed seven people and injured 45 on Thursday, emergency response chief Hassan Qadami told state media.

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake on the Gulf coast near Iran’s sole nuclear power plant killed seven people and injured 45 on Thursday, emergency response chief Hassan Qadami told state media.

The website for state television carried a statement from the plant’s operators saying it sustained no damage in the quake.

Bushehr province Gov. Fereidoun Hasanvand told state television that 45 people were injured.

Many people fled their homes during the earthquake, fearful the buildings would crash down on them, local media reported. Those living in neighboring provinces also felt the quake.

“So far, there are seven dead and 30 injured receiving hospital treatment,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Qadami as saying.

The quake’s epicentre was near Borazjan, around 60 kilometres (35 miles) from Bushehr, where Iran has its Russian-built reactor.

Iran stands on several seismic fault lines. A massive quake in December 2003 struck the southern city of Bam, killing 26,000 people and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.

Iran’s Arab neighbours across the Gulf have often raised concern over the reliability of the Bushehr plant and the risks of radioactive leaks in case of a major quake.

Bushehr is the capital city of Bushehr Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 161,674, in 40,771 families.[2]

Bushehr lies in a vast plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran. It was the chief seaport of the country and is the administrative centre of its province. Its location is about 1,218 kilometres (757 mi) south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.

The city structures are traditional in style, modest in proportion and cost. Due to its lack of rail connection to the interior of the country and its shallow anchorage, it has lost its position as the primary port of Persia/Iran, to other ports such as Abadan, Khorramshahr, and as of late, to the deep water ports such as Bandar Abbas and Chabahar port complex.

But Iran and Russia insist it respects international standards under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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