Iran's death toll from earthquake rises to 445
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that 445 people were killed and 7,370 injured in the Sunday earthquake along the Iran-Iraq border.
Official reports had put death toll at 407. There was elaboration on the discrepancy in Tasnim's report, though double-counting is common in the aftermath of such emergency situations in Iran.
More than half of the casualties are from Kurdish-majority town of Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermansh province. The only hospital in the town was heavily damaged and the army set field hospitals.
The magnitude 7.3 quake was centered 19 miles (31 kilometers) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the US Geological Survey.
Iran's government declared Tuesday as a national mourning day.
