The head of the Red Crescent in
Iran's earthquake-stricken region said today the death toll from a quake on yesterday had been revised down to 222 from an estimated 500.
The quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck early yesterday killing many women, children and elderly people at home while men were working in the fields and vineyards.
There were conflicting reports over the total number of dead, but officials fear the figure will rise as rescue teams reached remote villages in the grape-growing region.
Red Crescent officials said 5,000 houses had been completely destroyed and 25,000 people made homeless, with at least four strong aftershocks inflicting more damage.
At least 1,500 people were injured, the heaviest casualties close to the epicenter at Avaj, a mountain town of 3,600 people some 130 miles west of the capital Tehran.
The head of the Red Crescent said reliable casualty numbers would not be available until later today.
President Mr Mohammad Khatami sent a message of condolence and ordered Interior Minister Mr Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari to take charge of the "grave responsibilities that the government and the nation have in this tragic event," the official IRNA news agency said.
Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in Iran, which is crossed by several major faultlines, but rarer in this region.
On May 10th, 1997, a tremor measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale killed 1,560 people in eastern Iran near the Afghan border.