Magnitude 6.1 Quake Strikes Northeast of Iran

The quake's epicenter was in Sefidrang Village, near the provincial capital Mashhad. According to a report by a seismography center affiliated to Tehran University Geophysics Institute, the tremor occurred at 10:40 am local time around 81 kilometers southwest of Mashhad in a depth of 10 kilometers underground, news outlets reported Wednesday morning.

"We have all our emergency teams on call and there are no concerns regarding the provision of aid services," said Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesperson of the country's Emergency Services Organization.

The quake also shook neighboring cities of Gonabad and Torbat Heydarieh. At the time of writing, there were no reports of possible damages. All hospitals in the three cities were on standby, and 10 ambulances and five teams of Iranian Red Crescent Society, including 25 rescuers, were dispatched to the sites, Financial Tribune reported.

Telephone lines in a number of affected areas were reported to have been cut off for hours after the quake hit and authorities were in contact with different areas through wireless communication devices.

In Mashhad, home to nearly 3 million people, residents left their houses and ran to the streets.

Several aftershocks were also registered measuring between 3 and 5 magnitude.