Earthquake near Iranian nuclear power station leaves four people dead

Nuclear plant

A powerful earthquake has killed four people in southern Iran, close to the country's only nuclear power station.

A Red Cross official said two villages had been heavily damaged by the magnitude 6.3 quake but the Russian company that built the Bushehr plant said the reactor was undamaged.

Offices in the capitals of Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake, whose epicentre was 55 miles (89km) south-east of the port city of Bushehr, according to the US Geological Survey.

The shock was also felt in Dubai, according to witnesses and messages on Twitter.

Gulf Arab countries and western experts have voiced concerns about the Bushehr plant, which is built in a highly seismic area. Iran has repeatedly rejected concerns it could be unsafe.