One killed in south Iran earthquake -IRNA

TEHRAN, Mar 26 (Reuters) One person was killed in a strong earthquake that hit a rural area in Iran's southern province of Hormuzgan yesterday, the official IRNA news agency reported today.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 and a series of aftershocks struck the rural region of Fin in Hormuzgan, causing minor damage to houses. No casualties had initially been reported.

''One person was killed and another one was injured in the earthquake in Hormuzgan,'' Masoud Dalman, the head of an emergency squad at Hormuzgan province told IRNA today.

Dalman said the earthquake had blocked mountain roadways and disrupted electricity in areas hit by the quake.

''Efforts are underway to open the roads and remove electricity disruption in the affected areas,'' he added.

Fin, with a population of about 15,000, lies some 70 kilometres north of the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf, home to one of the Islamic Republic's key refineries.

Bandar Abbas and its refinery were not affected by the earthquake, which was followed by 21 aftershocks.

Ten people were killed and 50 injured when an earthquake measuring 5.9 razed mud-brick villages at Qeshm in Hormuzgan last November.

REUTERS DKS KN1613