A magnitude 6.1 earthquake injured dozens of people after it jolted a sparsely populated area in Iran’s southeast on Friday.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6, AP reported.
Iranian media said most of the 52 injuries were minor and happened when people rushed to seek shelter.
The quake also damaged scores of buildings in remote mountainous villages near the epicenter, the county of Hajdak in Kerman Province, about 1,100 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran.
The town has a population of 3,000 and is frequently hit by quakes. It is home to farms and coalmines. Rescue workers were at the site.
In November, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck western Iran, killing 530 people and injuring more than 9,000. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic southern city of Bam, killing 26,000.
Iran is located on major seismic faults and averages a quake per day.
