Posted on 05/29/2004 10:22:40 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
CHALOUS, Iran (AP) -
A helicopter taking a governor and his entourage from the site of a deadly earthquake crashed in the mountains of northern Iran on Saturday, killing everyone on board, official Tehran television reported.
The crash came as army helicopters ferried rescue teams to mountain villages in northern and central Iran cut off by landslides caused by Friday's quake, in which at least 35 people were killed and 250 were injured.
Those killed in the helicopter crash included Masoud Emami, the governor of Qazvin province, three of his aides and a journalist working for Iran's state-run television, the report said. It did not say how many others were aboard.
State-run TV reported there were 20 aftershocks following Friday's quake, including a 4.6-magnitude temblor Saturday morning in the southeastern city of Bam, where a 6.6-magnitude quake in December killed 26,000 people. There were no casualties there Saturday, the report said.
A weak tremor that lasted about five seconds was felt around midday Saturday in the Iranian capital, Tehran, which has a population of about 10 million. Friday's quake was so powerful it cracked or shattered windows in the capital's north, more than 60 miles from the hardest-hit villages.
Out of fear of a greater quake, many people in Tehran slept outdoors, in yards, parks or in the streets. The government denied widespread speculation about an impending quake.
"Reports of an earthquake in Tehran in the next few hours are false, and circulated by irresponsible people," Ali Jahanbakhshi, an official at Tehran's Emergency Headquarters, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Bijan Dastari, a senior Red Crescent Society official, said 35 people died and 250 were injured in the Friday afternoon earthquake, measured at magnitude 6.2 by the U.S. Geological Survey, that struck northern and central Iran.
Two army helicopters ferried rescue teams into some of the more remote villages early Saturday, IRNA reported. The quake severed road links to about a dozen villages, it said.
The road from Tehran to Chalous was riddled with large cracks, rocks and giant boulders, as well as cars that either were completely smashed or badly damaged by boulders. Crushed cars were being cleared by trailer trucks.
One driver barely squeezed into his car, whose rear side and passenger compartment were crushed, and slowly drove it away.
Fattollah Najafi, the 60-year-old owner of a roadside restaurant, said he felt the tremor, then saw boulders rolling down the mountain.
"All of a sudden, I saw the restaurant was shaking all over the place," Najafi said. "There were cars crashing into the mountain or into each other, and some were crushed by the boulders.
"One car that was hit by a boulder exploded into flames, and as far as I know everyone in it was killed."
The Red Crescent dispatched rescue teams with body-detecting dogs as well as medical teams, tents and lanterns to the stricken areas, IRNA reported. It quoted officials as saying about 50 villages were shaken by Friday's quake.
The villages hit hardest were near Alamout, about 80 miles west of Tehran, Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhah Khanjani told The Associated Press on Friday.
Sixteen people were buried in their cars and more than 70 others were injured by landslides and falling boulders on the mountainous Tehran-Chalous road, state-run television reported. Chalous is 55 miles north of Tehran.
Tehran University's seismological center said the quake had a 5.5 magnitude with an epicenter in the village of Baladeh, 45 miles northeast of Tehran, near the Caspian Sea.
The USGS bases its magnitude calculations by looking at measurements from a number of seismographs around the world. This figure can sometimes differ from a measurement recorded closer to the epicenter.
Alamout, the area hardest hit by the quake, is a remote region with a sinister history. It was home to an 11th-century order founded by Hassan Sabbah, who was known in Europe as the old Man of the Mountain.
His followers, known for their blind obedience and successful assassinations of many notables of the period, spread terror throughout Persia and Syria and were known to target Christian crusaders.
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The only people being punished here are the Iranians who have to endure the inept, despotic rule of Ayatollah Khameini and his willing lackeys on the Guardian Council.
Personally, I'd rather be imprisoned in one of their dungeons than have to live in a nation where thirty year old Airbus planes are considered a viable form of transportation.
Which nation would this be?
That whole Abu Gharib ordeal was stuck in my head as I was reading that article about the earthquake in Iran.
I realize the result came out a bit muddled.
Allahu Fubar!
"Why you filthy Kafir; If I didn't have to pick my nose, I would slice you like a two day old falafel!"
"Excuse me. I have to go ghusl."
"That's potty for you, infidel!
"well, Kuffir! It's my potty and I'll whine if I want to!"
I should have been a little more specific, but I didn't want to ruin the joke.
A ghusl is like a ritual cleansing for Muslims. It's not used just after they go to the bathroom. It's used by women during menses, after slaughtering cows-or infidels-and to clean up after some heavy-duty fornication.
quake??? maybe, maybe not strange things like trains going boom etc are happening???
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