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11 April 2013 - 13:58

Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi paid a visit to the quake-stricken areas of Bushehr province in a bid to assess the damages and help facilitate the government's relief aids to the affected people in the region.

During the visit on Wednesday, the Iranian first vice-president attended a meeting of a provincial special task force set up for preparing a roadmap for assisting the quake-hit victims and also helping to the reconstruction of their homes.

Rahimi also expressed his and the government's heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims of the devastating quake in Bushehr province.

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Kaki in Bushehr province on Tuesday, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 750 others.

The Seismological center of Bushehr province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 16:22 hours local time (1152 GMT).

The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 51.5 degrees in longitude and 28.4 degrees in latitude.

Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.

The worst in recent times hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of its population - and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.

The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.

In August 2012, two quakes in Northwestern Iran also claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4500 others.

News ID 184580