Huge earthquake near Iran nuclear plant kills 37 and leaves families homeless

The death toll has risen to at least 37 people and hundreds more injured in a 6.1 magnitude earthquake near a nuclear plant in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said. 

The earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region. 

'No damage was done to Bushehr power plant,' Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV. He said 37 people died and 850 were injured, including 100 who were hospitalised. 

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where workers were evacuated from high-rise buildings as a precaution.Earlier on Sunday a lighter earthquake jolted the nearby area. Iran is located on seismic faults and it experiences frequent earthquakes.

In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.