Nine dead in Turkey as 5.7 earthquake strikes western Iran
Ankara: Nine people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
The quake centered west of the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told a news conference that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey's Baskule district.
Koca later updated the number of fatalities to nine and wrote on Twitter that 37 people were injured, including nine in a critical but not life-threatening condition.
Emergency teams have been sent to the remote mountainous region.
Iran's official IRNA news agency said the earthquake affected 43 villages in the mountainous Qotour area.
It later added that at least 75 people had been injured, six of whom were hospitalised.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), the quake, which happened at 9:22am local time (0552GMT), had a depth of 5 kilometers (3 miles).
The region has a history of powerful earthquakes.
Last month a quake centered on the eastern Turkish city of Elazig killed more than 40 people.
In 2011, more than 600 were killed when a quake struck north of Van province's capital.
Turkish broadcaster NTV showed images of locals and soldiers digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings as families fearing further tremors sat in snowy streets.
The EMSC reported several further quakes that measured up to magnitude 4.4.
The effects of the quake hit four villages in Van. Seven of the fatalities occurred in Ozpinar village, where Soylu said search and rescue teams had arrived.
He added that the quake caused 1,066 buildings to collapse while the Education Ministry said a number of schools were damaged.
Koca said 25 ambulances, a medical helicopter and 13 emergency teams had been sent to the region.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said 144 tents for families had been dispatched.
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Three booked as crackers burst during election campaign trigger fire in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A case has been registered against three Shiv Sena (UBT) workers for allegedly violating campaign conditions after they burst firecrackers at an election rally, sparking a fire in Mumbai, officials said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening near the Govardhan building in central Mumbai’s N M Joshi Marg area, they said.
Sena (UBT) leader and former mayor Kishor Pednekar, who is contesting from ward no. 1999, was taking out a rally at the time. Sena (UBT) worker Ramchandra Yesode had organised the rally, and it had been granted police permission with certain conditions.
As Pednekar began visiting houses as part of the campaign for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, some of her supporters burst firecrackers on the road despite objections from policemen deployed for the rally, an official said.
The firecrackers exploded in all directions, triggering a fire in a room on the fifth floor of Irani Chawl and in three other houses, he said.
Police later identified Soham Sarwankar (21) and Omsai Pansare (20) as those who burst the firecrackers.
A case was then registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Maharashtra Police Act against organiser Yesode, Sarwankar and Pansare at the N M Joshi Marg police station, he said, adding that further probe is underway.
