TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Over 170 people were killed and about 600 injured in a strong earthquake which hit southeastern Iran early Tuesday, a local government spokesman said in Kerman.

Over 170 people were killed and about 600 injured in a strong earthquake which hit southeastern Iran early Tuesday.

   "More than 170 were killed, and the death toll could go sharply higher," the spokesman said.

   The quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the Zarand region of the southeastern province of Kerman, destroying several villages.

   Ali Sharifi, head of Hospital of Kerman University, said that it was too early to have a precise death toll, for many villages had not been reached by the rescuers yet.

   Ali Akbar Pour-Fathollah, head of the Blood Transfusion Organization, said that the wounded were in desperate need of blood.

   "In case of any problem regarding the scarceness of blood, we would use blood banks of other neighboring provinces and the whole country, or call on the people to refer to the blood transfusion centers to donate blood," Fathollah told the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

   Some eight teams of search and rescue dogs as well as a number of mountain climbing teams and three psychotherapy teams have been sent to the quake-hit region by helicopters, Mehr also quoted the Red Crescent Society as saying.

   The rainfall, wind and cold weather have slowed the course of relief works besides a heavy traffic on the road to the quake-stricken areas, Mehr reported.

   The official IRNA news agency quoted the provincial natural disasters headquarters as saying that at least 500 were wounded in the quake and at least five villages have been damaged by 20 to 70 percent.

   According to the seismological base of Tehran University's Geophysics Institute, the tremor occurred at 05:55 local time (0225GMT) and the epicenter was located on the outskirts of Zarand, 30.79 degrees in latitude and 56.90 degrees in longitude.

   The quake also shook the neighboring cities of Yazd, Meybod and Behabad.

   The Zarand region is about 200 km northwest of Bam where nearly 26,200 people were killed in December 2003 by a quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale.

   Iran is situated on some of the world's most active seismic fault lines and quakes of varying magnitudes are frequently witnessed. Enditem