At least thirty people were killed Tuesday afternoon in a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Iran, in the vicinity of a key nuclear facility, Iran's state-run Press TV announced.

The quake "ruined" the city of Kaki, which is near the epicenter, the state-run IRNA news agency said. Relief workers have been sent to help local officers in various rescue operations in parts of Bushehr province, an official with Iran's Red Crescent Society said, according to IRNA.

State-run Press TV reported that the network has spoken to officials at the Bushehr plant and that there were no problems there. Press TV warned that officials were indicating the number of casualties is expected to rise.

Agencies