Tremors were felt across the Gulf region, across Pakistan and well into north-west India on Tuesday, when the quake happened at 10.44am GMT.
The US Geological Survey said it had measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.8 and gave its location at 50 miles east-south-east of the town of Khash, in Iran. It is the biggest earthquake in Iran for 40 years.
Though the area is largely desert and mountains, there are several major cities, including Zahedan, 125 miles away, which has more than half a million inhabitants.
On the Pakistan side, the situation seemed just as confused. "We have reports of three deaths near the Pakistan-Iran border in MashKhel area of Panjgore district," said a local government official, requesting anonymity.
The official added that around 40 people had been injured when wooden roofs and mud walls collapsed. The sparsely populated district is one of Pakistan's most underdeveloped, with minimal telecommunication and infrastructure.
An Iranian citizen in the southern city of Shiraz, about 650 miles from the epicentre, said the quake was felt there.
In Delhi, India, more than 1,500 miles from the suspected epicentre, office workers evacuated buildings as fittings shook and windows rattled. Tremors lasted for around 30 seconds.
In 2003, a major quake near the Iranian city of Bam, not far from Tuesday's epicentre, killed 30,000.
Iran experiences earthquakes frequently. A week ago, a 6.1-magnitude quake hit near Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf coast, killing at least 37 people.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/16/earthquake-hits-iran-pakistan-border
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