vrijdag, december 26, 2003
Groot aantal slachtoffers aardbeving Iran
In het zuidoosten van Iran is vrijdagochtend een groot aantal doden gevallen bij een zware aardbeving. De gouverneur van de provincie Kerman heeft op de Iraanse radio gezegd dat met name de historische stad Bam zwaar is getroffen. Volgens de gouverneur staat het precieze aantal slachtoffers nog niet vast. Maar duidelijk is dat er veel doden zijn gevallen en het oude centrum van Bam is verwoest.
Het Iraanse persbureau Irna meldde dat de beving een kracht had van 6,3 op de schaal van Richter. De telefonische verbindingen met Bam en de steden Giroft en Kohnuj zijn verbroken. Bam ligt circa 1000 kilometer zuidoostelijk van de hoofdstad Teheran. Reddingswerkers zijn al ter plaatse met speurhonden. De autoriteiten vragen om bloeddonaties. De eerste beving had plaats om 05.27 uur plaatselijke tijd, daarna zijn nog verscheidene zware naschokken gevoeld.
A severe earthquake devastated the historic city of Bam in southeast Iran on Friday, and officials said many people were killed or buried in the rubble. Hasan Khoshrou, a legislator for Kerman province where the quake occurred, said he had been told the devastation in the city of 80,000 people was "beyond imagination." "No death toll is available, but it looks to be very, very high," Khoshrou said.
Iranian television said the magnitude 6.3 quake leveled about 60 percent of the houses in Bam, 630 miles southeast of the capital, killing many people as they slept. Authorities put out a call for blood donations. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, capable of causing severe damage, and hit at 5:27 a.m. local time. It reported an aftershock of magnitude 5.4 about two hours later.
"Many people have died," Kerman province Gov. Mohammad Ali Karimi told state media. "Many people are buried under the rubble." Reports said the earthquake destroyed Bam's medieval fortress, a massive, 2,000-year-old structure that sits on a cliff near the city and attracts thousands of tourists each year. The fortress includes scores of ancient mud huts.
"The historic quarter of the city has been completely destroyed and caused great human loss," said Mehran Nourbakhsh, chief spokesman for Iran's Red Crescent, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross. State media reported damage in three villages around Bam and said telephone links with the city were severed. Authorities were in contact with the Bam area through radio and satellite phone links. Electricity and water were also cut.
Authorities have sent numerous rescue workers with helicopters to the area, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "We are doing everything we can to rescue the injured and unearth the dead," television quoted Karimi as saying.
Bronnen: ANP, Associated Press.
In het zuidoosten van Iran is vrijdagochtend een groot aantal doden gevallen bij een zware aardbeving. De gouverneur van de provincie Kerman heeft op de Iraanse radio gezegd dat met name de historische stad Bam zwaar is getroffen. Volgens de gouverneur staat het precieze aantal slachtoffers nog niet vast. Maar duidelijk is dat er veel doden zijn gevallen en het oude centrum van Bam is verwoest.
Het Iraanse persbureau Irna meldde dat de beving een kracht had van 6,3 op de schaal van Richter. De telefonische verbindingen met Bam en de steden Giroft en Kohnuj zijn verbroken. Bam ligt circa 1000 kilometer zuidoostelijk van de hoofdstad Teheran. Reddingswerkers zijn al ter plaatse met speurhonden. De autoriteiten vragen om bloeddonaties. De eerste beving had plaats om 05.27 uur plaatselijke tijd, daarna zijn nog verscheidene zware naschokken gevoeld.
A severe earthquake devastated the historic city of Bam in southeast Iran on Friday, and officials said many people were killed or buried in the rubble. Hasan Khoshrou, a legislator for Kerman province where the quake occurred, said he had been told the devastation in the city of 80,000 people was "beyond imagination." "No death toll is available, but it looks to be very, very high," Khoshrou said.
Iranian television said the magnitude 6.3 quake leveled about 60 percent of the houses in Bam, 630 miles southeast of the capital, killing many people as they slept. Authorities put out a call for blood donations. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, capable of causing severe damage, and hit at 5:27 a.m. local time. It reported an aftershock of magnitude 5.4 about two hours later.
"Many people have died," Kerman province Gov. Mohammad Ali Karimi told state media. "Many people are buried under the rubble." Reports said the earthquake destroyed Bam's medieval fortress, a massive, 2,000-year-old structure that sits on a cliff near the city and attracts thousands of tourists each year. The fortress includes scores of ancient mud huts.
"The historic quarter of the city has been completely destroyed and caused great human loss," said Mehran Nourbakhsh, chief spokesman for Iran's Red Crescent, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross. State media reported damage in three villages around Bam and said telephone links with the city were severed. Authorities were in contact with the Bam area through radio and satellite phone links. Electricity and water were also cut.
Authorities have sent numerous rescue workers with helicopters to the area, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "We are doing everything we can to rescue the injured and unearth the dead," television quoted Karimi as saying.
Bronnen: ANP, Associated Press.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 10:14
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