Strong quakes jolt southern Iran, rescuers scour area

Two strong earthquakes on Saturday struck Iran's southern Hormozgan province on the Gulf, prompting authorities to deploy search and rescue teams to the affected areas, an official said. "We have not received any report of serious damage yet.

Two strong earthquakes on Saturday struck Iran's southern Hormozgan province on the Gulf, prompting authorities to deploy search and rescue teams to the affected areas, an official said.

"We have not received any report of serious damage yet. But large areas have been struck by these earthquakes and the evaluation work continues," Mokhtar Salahshour, head of Hormozgan Province's Red Crescent, told state TV. Iranian state media said the quakes had magnitudes of 5.7 and 5.8. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said one earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5.

In early July, at least five people were killed and 49 injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck an area near the epicentre of Saturday's quake.