Iran ready to send humanitarian aid to quake-hit Pakistan

Head of Iran's Red Crescent Society Abolhassan Faqih in a message on Wednesday voiced IRCS's preparedness to help Pakistan with rescue and relief operations after the recent earthquake in Iran resulted in the loss of life and damage to properties in neighboring Pakistan.At least 40 people were killed and 80 injured in Southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday when it was hit by tremors from a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in neighboring Iran, Pakistani officials said."IRCS is fully ready to dispatch humanitarian aid to the quake-hit areas of Pakistan," Faqih said in his message.Faqih also extended condolences to the Pakistani nation and government as well as victims families over the death of their beloved onesThe earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale jolted an area near the town of Saravan in Iran's Southeastern Sistan and Balouchestan province near the border with Pakistan on Tuesday.The Seismological center of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 15:14 hours local time (1044 GMT).The center said the epicenter of the quake was located in an area 62.03 degrees in longitude and 28.04 degrees in latitude. It added that the quake's epicenter was located in a desert area around 81km North of Saravan and in the depth of 95km.Earlier unconfirmed reports said up to 1,000 homes were destroyed Pakistan because of the quake, tremors of which were felt as far as New Delhi and Persian Gulf states.In the Baluchistan town of Mashkeel, several hundred houses collapsed, according to Mohammed Ashraf, the head of a local health center. Ashraf added that it was unclear whether there had been any casualties, according to Reuters.