Quake in Iran kills eight in neighbouring Turkey
Istanbul: A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in northwestern Iran on Sunday killed at least eight people in neighbouring Turkey and injured dozens more on both sides of the border, authorities said.
"We lost eight of our citizens, including three children," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 21 people were injured and eight of them were in critical condition, according to Anadolu. Turkish broadcaster NTV showed images of collapsed adobe houses in several snow-covered villages in Van province on the Iran border.
"There is nobody trapped under the rubble as of this moment," governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with his interior minister to receive information about the search and rescue operation in the region, the Turkish presidency said.
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:23 am (local time), was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border, according to the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake had a depth of six kilometres, according to Tehran University's Seismological Centre. It injured at least 40 people and 17 of them have been hospitalised in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, according to the country's emergency services.
The same source also said there was damage to buildings in 43 villages. Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and sees frequent seismic activity. In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in the western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.
In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeastern Iran decimated the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people.
Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.
Turkey's Van province was struck earlier this month by two avalanches which killed 41 people. In 2011, an earthquake measuring 7.1 hit near the same region, killing more than 500 people.
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Tripura min thanks Centre for clearing final location survey for new railway line
Agartala (PTI): Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw for clearing the final location survey (FLS) for a new rail line between Jirania and Bodhjungnagar industrial estate in West Tripura.
The Ministry of Railways has accorded sanction for conducting an FLS for the construction of a new line, the NFR said in a statement on Monday.
The estimated cost of the 14-km stretch will be Rs 42 lakh, and the approval marks an important step toward strengthening railway infrastructure and enhancing industrial activities in the northeastern state, it said.
"The approval for the construction of this new railway line is an important step in strengthening the railway infrastructure in the state and increasing the mobility of various industries in the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar," the transport minister said in a Facebook post on Monday.
"The proposed new Jirania-Bodhjungnagar railway line, if commissioned, will play an important role as a rail corridor for the transport of goods from the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar and which will benefit the people of the state, including businessmen," he added.
After the completion of this survey, the construction of the new railway line will help encourage further industrial development in the districts adjoining West Tripura, which will significantly boost the local economy, he said.
"This important project will play a special role in improving the railway connectivity in the state and boost the economic growth of the region," the minister added.
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Manik Saha and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for taking this step," he added.
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