伊朗7.8级地震至少40人遇难

伊朗7.8级地震至少40人遇难

伊朗7.8级地震至少40人遇难

伊朗7.8级地震至少40人遇难

　　TEHRAN, Iran — An earthquake toppled homes and shops on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border Tuesday, killing dozens of people and causing skyscrapers to sway in Dubai. It also forced Iranian officials — for the second time in less than a week — to issue assurances that its main nuclear reactor wasn’t damaged。

　　Despite the conflicting reports on the Iranian side, a Pakistani military official said at least 34 were killed on their side of the border and 80 were injured. Up to 1,000 mud homes were damaged, Pakistan Television added. The military spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Pakistan military policy。

　　The Pakistani army ordered paramilitary troops to assist with rescue operations and provide medical treatment. Additional troops are being moved to the area, and army helicopters were mobilized to carry medical staff, tents, medicine and other relief items。

　　Commentary on Iranian TV criticized international media for “exaggerating” the death toll, raising further questions about the full extent of the damage in the rugged region that’s a front line in Iran’s battle against drug traffickers and the Sunni-based militant group, Jundallah, which carries out sporadic attacks。

　　Iran’s state-run Press TV initially said at least 40 people were killed on the Iranian side, but later removed the figure from its website and news scroll. Other state-controlled outlets, including the official IRNA news agency, mentioned no deaths and only up to 27 injuries, quoting a local official。

　　It also was the second deadly quake to hit Iran in less than a week after a magnitude 6.1 temblor struck near Bushehr, on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast, killing at least 37 people and raising calls for greater international safety inspectors at Iran’s lone nuclear reactor nearby。

　　Press TV said the quake was centered near Saravan, about 50 kilometers (26 miles) from the Pakistani border. The U.S. Geological Survey put the preliminary magnitude at 7.8 and at a depth of 15.2 kilometers (nine miles)。

　　Iran’s nuclear chief Fereidoun Abbasi said there was no damage to the Bushehr reactor and invited U.N. inspectors to visit, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. Abbasi repeated the statement issued after last week’s quake: The Bushehr plan was built to withstand quakes up to magnitude 8, which is considerably stronger than Tuesday’s temblor。

　　Rowena Lohman, an earthquake physics expert at Cornell University, said some unusual geophysics may have prevented much greater damage and casualties。

　　A resident in the quake zone in Iran, Manouchehr Karimi, told The Associated Press by phone that “the quake period was long” and occurred “when many people were at home to take a midday nap。”

　　新闻快讯

　　据中国地震台网消息，伊朗、巴基斯坦交界地区于北京时间16日晚上18时44分发生7.7级地震，震中位于北纬28.1度，东经62.1度(伊朗锡斯坦-俾路支斯坦省哈什地区)，震源深度20公里。

　　伊朗伊斯兰共和国新闻电视网援引锡斯坦－俾路支斯坦省省长哈特姆·诺鲁伊的话报道说，此次强震未造成人员死亡，只有5人在地震中受伤。诺鲁伊说，强震没有严重损坏灾区的基础设施，灾区的电力、供水和通信已在震后数小时恢复正常，有关地震造成至少40人死亡的消息是“媒体杜撰的数字”。

　　发生在昨晚的这次地震，已经是一周之内伊朗境内发生的第二起地震。而从上个世纪90年代以来，伊朗已发生约8次6级以上的地震。此前，1990年的7.3级地震以及2003年的6.3级地震，均造成数万人遇难。中国国际问题研究所特邀研究员、曾于上世纪90年代任中国驻伊朗大使的华黎明介绍说，伊朗民众防震意识薄弱，以及建筑抗震性能不佳是地震经常造成较大伤亡的重要原因。