Moderate quake kills 4 people in rural area in southern Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's state TV says a magnitude 5.1 quake killed four people in a village deep in southern Iran.

The report says the quake struck Saifabad village near the town of Khonj, about 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles, south of the capital, Tehran. The TV says the four fatalities are foreign nationals, a reference to Afghan laborers who work on farms. It says another four people were injured.

The epicenter of the quake is said to be in a mountainous and sparsely populated rural area.

The U.S. Geological Survey described the temblor as a 5.3 magnitude quake, striking at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in Iran's Fars province.

Magnitude 5 earthquakes can cause considerable damage. Friday's quake also struck at a shallow depth, which intensifies its effect.