Two strong earthquakes hit northwestern Iran about 10 minutes apart Saturday afternoon, killing at least 50 people, AP quoted officials as saying. The death toll was reported by the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency, CNN reported. The first earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, struck just before 4 p.m., 37 miles east northeast of the city of Tabriz, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It was followed at 4:04 p.m. by a magnitude 6.3 quake centered 29 miles east-northeast of Tabriz. Several weaker quakes hit the region, including a magnitude 5.0 shaking at 7:13 p.m. 22 miles northeast of Tabriz. The first two earthquakes damaged buildings in Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province.
