5.9 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Iran, 5 Killed, Over 120 Injured

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck northwestern Iran on Friday killing at least five people, an emergency official said. Over 120 people have been injured and the number could go up. Pirhossein Koulivand told state TV about the deaths and injuries early Friday morning. The quake hit at 2:20 a.m. Friday in Iran's East Azerbaijan province. It says the temblor occurred at a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). The US Geological Survey puts the quake's magnitude at 5.8 at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Iran is located on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake a day on average. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.