6 killed, hundreds injured in 5.9-magnitude earthquake in Iran

At least six people were killed in a 5.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Tark region in Iran's northwestern East Azerbaijan province on Friday morning, Iranian Student News Agency reported.

In the incident that took place at 02:17 local time Friday morning (2247 GMT), 380 others were also injured.

Many of the people were injured while trying to flee their houses in panic.

The incident was followed by more than 60 aftershocks, causing people to stay outdoors in the middle of night.

The tremor hit 80 villages and damaged 500 houses.

The water and gas supplies, which were disrupted in some of the villages, have been resumed.

"Rescue teams and helicopters have been dispatched to the quake-hit areas and hospitals are on full alert to help injured people," the head of Iran's emergency medical services Pirhossein Kolivand told state TV.

The earthquake was felt in five other provinces adjacent to the quake-hit region.