Iran: Rescuers try to free people
Rescuers in Iran worked furiously Tuesday to free people trapped under rubble, a day after a powerful earthquake rippled through a rural stretch of villages in the country's southeastern region, Iranian media reported.
Iran's Press TV said aftershocks followed the 6.5 magnitude Monday quake that struck at least 70 villages in Kerman province.
Iranian authorities recorded seven deaths and dozens of injuries so far, but authorities expect the casualty toll to rise in the quake -- just over 60 miles away from the site of a deadly tremor that killed 30,000 people seven years ago in the city of Bam.
Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency reported that scores of people are trapped in the debris of buildings that have been destroyed. Many such sites are in hard-to-reach locations, making any rescue operations even more difficult.