Three strong earthquakes and several aftershocks jolted western Iran overnight, killing at least 66 people and injuring about 1,200 others, state television reported on Friday.The initial quake of magnitude 4.7 struck a mountainous region in western Iran on late Thursday. It was followed by a quake of magnitude 5.1 that struck Boroujerd and Doroud, two industrial cities in western Iran, at 11:06 pm local time. While the third temblor of magnitude 6.0 hit Doroud and surrounding villages at 4:47 am local time on Friday, the television reported.A total of 66 bodies had been recovered in Silakhor, a region north of Doroud, the television reported.The provincial head of the Unexpected Disaster Committee, Ali Barani, said no fewer than 200 villages were damaged, and some were flattened. Most of the 1,200 people injured had been in bed when the quake struck, the television said.The quake in the middle of the night caused panic, with citizens in Doroud running out of their homes. Many spent the night in open space, residents said. ‘‘We are afraid to get back home. I spent the night with my family and guests in open space last night,’’ said Doroud resident Mahmoud Chaharmiri.Twelve aftershocks were registered after the first quake, said Nabi Bidhendi, the head of Tehran University’s Geophysics Institute. Such quakes have killed thousands of people in the past in the countryside where houses are often built of mudbricks, but initial reports suggested the devastation had not been so widespread this time, Chaharmiri said. The epicenter of Thursday night’s quake was in the mountains south of Boroujerd and north of Doroud.The US Geological Survey reported a 5.7-magnitude quake at 4:47 am, followed by a 4.7-magnitude 15 minutes later. Their epicenters were 340 km southwest of Tehran. The area had been hit by a 4.7-magnitude quake the day before, the USGS said.Disaster official Barani said that rescue teams had been sent to the region to help the survivors.ALI AKBAR DAREINI
