TEHRAN - In the earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale in western Iran on early hours of Sunday, at least three people were killed and 243 others were injured, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

According to Iranian Seismological Center, the epicenter of the earthquake in Iran's Tazeh Abad town in western Kermanshah province was at the depth of 8 km, 34.631 degrees north latitude and 46.220 degrees east longitude.

The earthquake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Lorestan and Ilam as well as in the border areas of the neighbour country of Iraq.

People in Tazeh Abad town and the nearby villages rushed to the streets in panic following the quake and camped in the parks.

Long queues are reported at the gas stations in all parts of the Kermanshah province.

According to Mehr, the broken water and power connections have been fixed and the telephone lines have been fixed in the quake-hit region.

Red Crescent Society of Kermanshah province have dispatched 24 teams of rescue operators to Tazeh Abad and the villages affected.

45 after-shakes, ranging 2.5-4.1 magnitude, have taken place in the region.

Iran sits on major fault lines and is prone to near-daily earthquakes. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.

Iran's November 2017 earthquake, also in Kermanshah province, injured thousands in Iran. In neighboring Iraq, nine people were killed and 550 were injured. The almost entirely Kurdish province of Kermanshah is nestled in the Zagros Mountains along the border with Iraq.

Xinhua/AP