AT least five people were killed and 19 injured when a strong earthquake shook southern Iran early this morning, the state news agency IRNA reported.

The 6.0 magnitude quake hit 100km southwest of the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, the US Geological Survey said.

Five people were killed in Sayeh Khosh village close to the epicentre of the quake, IRNA reported, citing a member of the village Islamic council who said bodies had been pulled from the rubble.

The quake struck just a minute after a 5.7 tremor.

One person was killed in November last year when Hormozgan province was hit by twin 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes.

Situated on the edge of several tectonic plates and crossing various fault lines, Iran is an area of strong seismic activity.

Iran’s deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor that struck in 1990, killing 40,000 people in the north of the country. – AFP, July 2, 2022.