15 persons hurt by earthquake in Azerbaijan

As a result of the earthquake that happened this morning in the Zagatala District of Azerbaijan, 15 persons asked for medical care, said Mamedrasul Teyubov, the head of the outpatient department of the central district hospital. According to the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), about 60 houses were ruined in the villages of Mukhakh, Zeyem and Bazar.

The epicentre of the earthquake that occurred at 9:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. Moscow time) was 17 km to the south of the city of Zagatala and about 400 km to the west of Baku, the capital of the country. Here, its magnitude was 5.5 points. At 10:38 and 10:40 a.m. local time, there were two more earthquakes, which were fixed at 16 and 18 km to the south-west of Zagatala.

According to Mr Teyubov, the earthquake caused no serious injuries. Most of the patients received traumas from felling down, when they left their houses in panic, the "Trend" reports.

For those who lost their houses as a result of the earthquake in Zagatala, new houses will be built. According to the MfE, is planned to build houses for the families whose houses were destroyed, and to repair other houses. The work is underway to estimate the damage caused by the calamity and mitigate its consequences. Special commissions have been set up in localities to study the condition of damaged buildings, the IA "SalamNews" reports.