"Four villages, which have a total population of 6,000, have been damaged," the governor of Qeshm island, Heydar Alishbandi, told AFP.

Speaking to the official news agency IRNA, he said five people were killed and "tens injured".

However he said the island's main town, also called Qeshm, was undamaged. The affected villages were identified as Gabardin, Tonban, Tourian and Khaldin -- all situated in the less densely populated west of the island.

The quake hit Qeshm island at 1:53 pm (1023 GMT) and was felt for more than 10 seconds, IRNA said. The island, home to some 120,000 people, is situated off the coast of the port city of Bandar Abbas.

State television said one of the villages on the island suffered 90 percent damage, and put the intensity of the quake at 5.9 on the Richter scale.

Contacted by telephone, a hotel worker in Qeshm described the quake as "very strong"

"We were panicked. I saw an injured person with blood on their clothes being taken to a local hospital," said the hotel worker, who asked for her name not to be used.

Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes.

In February, a quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the southern town of Zarand, killing 612 people and wounding around 1,400. In December 2003, the southeastern city of Bam was razed by a 6.7 degree quake that left more than 31,000 people dead.

The quake was also felt across the Gulf in the United Arab Emirates where residents fled high-rise office and apartment blocks.

"I took my baby and ran down the 10 flights to the street," one alarmed resident of Dubai said.

Dubai police chief General Dhahi Khalfan went on local radio to reassure the local population and urged them to return to their offices and homes.

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