Steph Deschamps / July 3, 2022
Five people were killed and a hundred injured Saturday in Iran after several earthquakes half destroyed a village in the south of the country, not far from the Strait of Hormuz.
These three earthquakes - two of which were of magnitude 6 and one of magnitude 5.7 - shook the province of Hormozgan, turning half the village of Sayeh Khosh into a field of ruins.
Five people died and 93 were injured, seven of whom are still hospitalized, according to a latest report provided to television by the spokesman for the national emergency service, Mojataba Khaledi.
The first earthquake occurred at around 2:00 a.m. local time at a depth of 16 km, according to the U.S. Seismological Institute (USGS), followed by two others two hours later at a depth of 10 km.
These earthquakes occurred near the village of Sayeh Khosh, located 100 kilometers southwest of the port of Bandar Abbas, a city of half a million people located on the Strait of Hormuz.
Search and rescue operations are almost complete, the Iranian branch of the Red Crescent said, quoted by the television.
We are focusing on receiving the victims of the earthquake, said the governor of the province Mehdi Dousti, saying that half of the village of Sayeh Khosh had been destroyed.
According to television footage, several residential buildings collapsed in Sayeh Khosh and the village was plunged into darkness after a power failure.
Members of a family could be seen trying to salvage their belongings by searching through the rubble, while a woman screamed.
Historic buildings were also affected, with 50 ancient mills damaged on Qechm Island, according to a regional heritage official.