Tehran, Nov 8 (AP) An emergency official says a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in northwestern Iran has killed at least five people and injured 120 others.

Pirhossein Koulivand told state TV about the deaths and injuries early Friday morning.

The quake hit at 2:20 a.m. Friday in Iran's East Azerbaijan province. It says the temblor occurred at a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

The US Geological Survey puts the quake's magnitude at 5.8 at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage.

Iran is located on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake a day on average. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)