At least 5 killed in magnitude 6.1 earthquake on Iran Gulf coast

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At least five people were killed and 49 injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in southern Iran early on Saturday (July 2), state media reported. The area was also hit soon after by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitude.

Video from the scene showed people waiting outside hospitals while others searched through the rubble for personal belongings and cleared the debris.

Some 24 tremors, two with a magnitude of 6.3 and 6.1, followed the 2 a.m. local time quake that flattened the village of Sayeh Khosh near Iran's Gulf coast in Hormozgan province. The most recent tremor occurred around 8 a.m., officials told state TV.

"All of the victims died in the first earthquake and no one was harmed in the next two severe quakes as people were already outside their homes," said Foad Moradzadeh, governor of Bandar Lengeh country, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.