Iran quakes death toll rises to 250

Rescue efforts prompted by two quakes which struck within 11 minutes of each other on Saturday are being hampered by the ongoing aftershocks.

The first quake struck 23km (14 miles) south-west of Ahar and 58km (36) miles north-east of Tabriz at 16:54 local time (12:23 GMT) on Saturday, said the US Geological Survey.

The second earthquake struck just 11 minutes after the first, slightly closer to Tabriz.

Iran straddles a major geological fault line, making it prone to seismic activity. In 2003 an earthquake in the city of Bam left more than 25,000 people dead.

The continuing aftershocks have made the rescue effort exhausting work, and that the number of victim's is expected to rise further still.

The quakes have resulted in damage to the country's communication infrastructure, such as disabled or damaged phone lines.

The country is also struggling to cope with mass panic, as citizens are crowing the streets amid ambulance rushing to and fro between hospitals and emergency calls.

The towns of Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province in north-western Iran were among those that suffered casualties, local crisis committee chief Khalil Saei reportedly told state TV.

"The magnitude of the disaster is so huge that officials are just managing to get enough people in from other provinces to help out," an Iranian Red Crescent worker was reported as saying by AFP news agency.

Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Hassan Ghadami also told the official Fars news agency that about 110 villages had been damaged.

State TV have so far said that at least six villages were totally flattened, with 60 other villages sustaining damage ranging from 50% to 80%.

"This village is a mass grave," said Alireza Haidaree, who had been searching for survivors in his home of Baje Baj, and added that many other villages have similarly been completely destroyed. Locals were reported as saying that 33 of the villages 414 residents had died.

State TV is broadcasting footage of dozens of families sleeping outdoors in parks, and bodies lying on the floor of a morgue in Ahar, including those of children.

Almost all deaths seem to have been confined to rural areas, local disaster officials said - probably because buildings in the cities are more sturdily constructed.

The timing of the quake, during evening in the holy month of Ramadan, also meant it caught many people indoors as they were resting after fasting during the day.