Over 300 killed and thousands injured after deadly tremor strikes near Iran border

At least 335 people have been killed and around 4000 injured after a powerful earthquake struck in northern Iraq near the Iranian border, officials say.

The quake’s epicentre was in Penjwin in the north-western Sulaimaniyah province, within the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region very close to the Iranian border, according to an Iraqi meteorology official.

Iranian authorities told reporters the exact numbers of casualties would not be available for several hours as rescue workers worked through the night.

Earlier, Iraqi authorities said the earthquake killed at least four people and injured dozens, as Iranian officials said eight villages had been damaged across the border with a number of deaths and injuries reported.

“The quake was felt in several Iranian provinces bordering Iraq … eight villages were damaged … electricity has been cut in some villages and rescue teams have been dispatched to those areas,” local TV reported.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake measured a magnitude of 7.3 at a shallow depth of 23 kilometres.

Many residents in Baghdad rushed out of houses and tall buildings in panic.

“I was sitting with my kids having dinner and suddenly the building was just dancing in the air,” said Majida Ameer, who ran out of her building in the capital’s Salihiya district with her three children.

- Source: ABC
- Agencies