Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has sent a message of condolences to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rohani on the devastating earthquake near the Islamic Republic’s border with Iraq that claimed hundreds of victims.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck at Ezgeleh, in the northwestern Iranian province of Kermanshah, last night, killing at least 348 people and injuring thousands of others. Eight of the victims are reportedly Iraqis.
International media reported that many Iranians spent the night digging through rubble in the affected area in a frantic search for survivors. The official death-toll in the powerful earthquake has been rising during the day.
In his message of condolences President Sarkisian offered his “deepest sympathy to Iran’s President and the friendly people of Iran, wishing the victims’ families and relatives fortitude and courage, and to the injured a speedy recovery”, the Armenian president’s press office reported.