5.7-magnitude quake hits northeastern Iran

TEHRAN, May 13 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.7 shook Pish Qaleh region in North Khorasan province of Iran at 22:30 local time (1800 GMT) on Saturday, Iran Seismological Center said.

The earthquake, with a depth of 11 km and the epicenter at 37.655 degrees north latitude and 57.224 degrees east longitude, caused electricity and communication network to be disrupted, Chief of Iran's Emergency Center, Pir Hossein Kolivand, was quoted as saying by state IRIB TV.

Also, the tremor has destroyed some of the villages in the region as well as the buildings in Bojnourd, the capital city of North Khorasan, he said.