TEHRAN (AP):
A 5.9-MAGNITUDE earth-quake levelled seven villages in southern Iran yesterday, killing 10 people and injuring 70, state-run television said.
Heidar Alishvandi, the governor of Qeshm Island, was quoted by state-run television as saying that rescue teams were deployed to the affected areas.
Iran's seismologic centre said the epicentre was in the waters of the Persian Gulf between the port city of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island. The quake was felt in nearby Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
MINOR DAMAGE
State-run TV reported that Qeshm Island's airport sustained minor damage and part of a major hospital collapsed from the force of the quake. No further details were provided.
Tehran's seismologic centre said the quake measured magnitude 5.9. But the United States Geological Survey said it was magnitude 6.1, and placed the epicentre about 58 kilometres south-west of Bandar Abbas.
Masoud Dalman, head of Hormozgan province's emer-gency affairs, said several buildings on Qeshm Island were damaged.
The island is about 1,500 kilometres south of Tehran, the capital.
