Iran declares three days mourning after earthquake

The governor’s office of Iran’s Kermanshah province announced that it has declared three days of mourning in the province, the most heavily affected area by Sunday’s earthquake.

At least 445 people were killed and more than 7000 injured in Iran and Iraq in a powerful earthquake that struck the Iran-Iraq border region. More than 70,000 people needed emergency shelter, the head of Iranian Red Crescent said, the Independent reported.

The authorities say it is highly unlikely anyone else will be found alive. "The rescue operations in the [western] Kermanshah province have ended," the head of Iran's Emergency Medical Services, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, said on state TV.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded that the 7.3-magnitude quake struck around 19 miles from the Iraqi city of Halabjah, at a depth of 14 miles.