HALOS 332 MGA TAO ANG NAMATAY SA 7.3 MAGNITUDE NA LINDOL SA IRAQ AT IRAN!

A huge rescue effort is under way after a powerful earthquake struck Iran's mountainous border with Iraq, killing more than 400 people and injuring more than 7,000. Teams are looking for survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. The quake is the deadliest in the world this year.



Most people who died were in western Iran - in Sarpol-e-Zahab, a town 15km (10 miles) from the border, and other parts of Kermanshah province. The town's main hospital was severely damaged, leaving it struggling to treat hundreds of wounded, state TV reported.

A woman and her baby were pulled alive from rubble in the town, Iranian media said.



One aid agency said 70,000 people needed shelter after the quake, and there were reports that thousands of people were facing a second night in the cold as dusk fell. Iranian officials said 407 people had died in the country. Some soldiers and border guards were among the dead, the Iranian army's commander-in-chief told the state news channel IRINN.



In Iraq, nine have died, a Red Crescent spokesman told the BBC. A UN office in Iraq said more than 500 people were injured there, and the earthquake was felt in Irbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk and Basra as well as the capital, Baghdad.



Landslides have made it harder for rescuers to reach those affected in rural areas, and there are fears a dam in Iraq could burst after it was damaged by the earthquake. People living nearby have reportedly been asked to leave.