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Over 190 people injured during earthquake in Iran — official

At least 500 homes were destroyed in the province

TASS, January 19. The number of victims in Wednesday's earthquake near the city of Khoy in northwestern Iran has risen to 194, the governor of the Iranian province said on Thursday.

"The province's medical centers have provided 194 victims with medical assistance. At the same time, only 24 people have been hospitalized, 10 of whom have already been successfully operated on," said the official, as cited by the Tasnim news agency. The governor also stressed that the provincial authorities will provide 850 beds in tented camps and hand out humanitarian aid for the next three days to all those affected by the earthquake.

At least 500 homes were destroyed in the province.

On Wednesday, the IRNA news agency reported, citing the mayor of the city of Khoy, that 133 people had been injured as a result of the natural disaster, 6 of them requiring hospitalization. The Tasnim news agency reported that teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society in the neighboring areas of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan had been put on high alert to help the victims.

Earlier, seismologists said a magnitude 5.9 earthquake was registered near the Iranian-Turkish border, with the epicenter being 15 kilometers southeast of Khoy and having a depth of 5 kilometers.

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