The governor of the southern city of Zarindasht, Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi was quoted by State News Agency IRNA, Friday.

He said the quakes struck the villages of Dareh Shur, Deheh No, Debehran, Darva and Shahre Pir, all located around Zarindasht, a small town in Fars province, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Shiraz and approximately 800 kilometers south of Tehran.

"One villager was killed and 20 others were injured," Mousavi said.

"Electric power, phone lines and water supply of all those villages are badly damaged and the police station of Debehran was also demolished," he added.

"An earthquake of this intensity is unprecedented in Zarindasht and fortunately villagers were not inside their homes because of the hot weather."

Officials from Tehran's seismological institute said the first quake struck at 9:36 pm (1706 GMT) Thursday, and the second at 10:12 pm (1742 GMT).

National television said the first quake lasted 12 seconds and cut off electricity supplies to the area, while state radio said rescue teams were working in the area into the early hours of Friday.

It also quoted another provincial official as saying the "number of dead is not very high".

Earthquakes are frequent in Iran, and about 950 have hit the country since 1991, killing a total of 17,600 people and injuring another 53,500, according to figures from IRNA.

TERRA.WIRE