A massive earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale followed by an almost as intense aftershock and more than 17 other tremors, jolted Iran, killing at least one person and injuring 47 others.

The 6.4 quake originated near the small inland town of Fin at 3.37 p.m. on Sunday, Xinhua news agency quoted the Iranian Seismological Centre (ISC) as saying in a monitoring report.

Less than two minutes later, there was a 6.3-magnitude aftershock, very close to the same location in the southern province of Hormozgan. Among the 17 quakes registered by the ISC in the next five hours following the first aftershock, eight had magnitudes between 4 and 4.5 on the Richter scale.

According to the Iranian Red Crescent (IRC), the 22-year-old victim was killed in Bandar Abbas, the capital city of Hormozgan province, by a falling electric post.

A spokeswoman for Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences told local media on Sunday night that 47 people had suffered injuries. Mokhtar Salahpour, head of the IRC in Hormozgan, said the necessary equipment for emergency accommodation had been deployed in parks, schools, and sports halls for the night, and items such as blankets and tents had been sent to affected areas.

According to Hormozgan Governor Mehdi Dousti some of the livestock in Fin were killed in the earthquake and traffic in several parts of Hormozgan, Kerman, and Fars had to be restricted.

Many in the affected areas lost access to electricity, telephone, and internet services.