Twin Earthquakes in Iran kills 306, injures 5000 people

Around 306 people have been killed in the Saturday's strong twin earthquakes in northwest Iran and more then 5,000 people have been injured.

Iran's Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi said, "We are continuing the search for bodies".

She added that all others who were buried under the debris were rescued.

A 6.2-magnitude of earthquake hit Ahar in East Azerbaijan province at 4.53 pm on Saturday that had a depth of 10 km which was followed by 6-magnitude earthquake that hit Varzaqan at 5.04 pm also with a depth of 10 km.

The two quakes damaged some 230 villages. At least 12 villages were completely destroyed.

Two days of mourning was announced in East Azerbaijan on Sunday. A state grant of nearly $1,000 per family has been approved.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes.