Twin quakes rock Iran, kill 20

quot;Most of the victims were children who were unable to escape from their homes and died under the falling houses,quot; Irna said.

The toll was expected to rise as most of the people were asleep when the disaster struck and many were forced to dig their way out of the debris of their homes.

The first quake jolted the villagers at 3:30 am local time 0430 IST followed by another at 3:41 am 0441 IST with the epicentre located in a vast mountainous region between the city of Shiraz and the town of Kazerun and the town of Firuzabad.

quot;The sound of cries and moaning were heard from families who were on the streets of the villages, obviously disoriented and disturbed,quot; the agency quoted witnesses.

All the injured have been evacuated from the region.

The quakes were followed by a dozen of aftershocks, some with an intensity of 4.4 degrees, it said.