A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Iran’s western province of Kermanshah late Sunday, the country’s institute of geophysics said, with local officials reporting some 260 people injured. The epicentre of the quake was 17 kilometres southwest of the city of Sarpol-e Zahab, according to the institute, which said it struck at a depth of 7 kilometres. At least 260 people were injured in Sarpol-e Zahab and the neighbouring city of Gilan-e Gharb, close to the Iraqi border, Kermanshah governor Houshang Bazvand told sources “We’ve had no reports of fatalities so far. The situation is currently under control,” Bazvand said. “There were power and water cuts in both cities, but they lasted only a few minutes.” The head of Iran’s emergency medical services Pirhossein Kolivand said in televised comments that most of the injuries were due to “people panicking and fleeing their homes”. The number of those hurt could rise as 18 emergency teams dispatched from neighbouring provinces were still assessing the damage, he said. “Lights went out, walls looked as if they were going to fall and all the neighbours were screaming,” Babayi, 36, told sources. Those living in the city are all too familiar with the devastation earthquakes can bring after it bore the brunt of a 7.3-magnitude termor last November that killed 620 people and injured thousands more. Partial rebuilding work on Babayi’s house finished just a month ago after it was razed in that quake and her family are still paying construction costs.There were no official details of any damage to buildings and infrastructure after the latest earthquake. There were also reports that the initial quake was felt across the border in Iraq.