Quake strikes Iran-Pakistan border region; at least 30 dead

Casualties were scaled back in Iran from at least 40 deaths, as reported initially by Press TV, to only injuries as authorities said the quake's depth, at 82 kilometres, lessened its impact. The quake also struck a sparsely populated area, they said.
The magnitude of the quake made it the most powerful tremor in about 40 years in Iran, a country in which quakes measuring as little as 5 on the Richter scale have caused deaths. The quake was felt as fa raway as New Delhi and several Gulf nations.
Pakistan appeared to have suffered the worst of the quake, which shook its south-western province of Balochistan and major cities, including the capital, Islamabad.
Saifur Rehman from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Quetta, Balochistan's capital, said authorities were trying to reach the worst hit areas of Balochistan's Washuk district.
"So far, 30 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in Mashkhel," said Rehman, adding that more than 250 houses were also damaged.//DPA