Iran earthquakes

Twin earthquakes hit northwest Iran near the Azerbaijan border, injuring thousands and killing over 300. Simple mud brick homes in the sparsely populated region collapsed quickly in the quakes, the larger of which measured 6.4 on the Richter Scale. Iran sits on several active fault lines and experiences earthquakes regularly. With western media hindered by restrictions in Iran, many of the images presented here are by Iranian news services, including the Iranian Students' News Agency. Images are presented as transmitted to Reuters and GettyImages. -- Lane Turner (21 photos total)

Residents and rescue workers search for the survivors in the rubble of a house near Varzaqan, after twin earthquakes hit northwestern Iran on August 11, 2012. (Farshid Tighehsaz/ISNA/AFP/GettyImages)

Ishikhli village, near the town of Varzaqan, lies still in the aftermath of the earthquakes on August 12, 2012. (Farshid Tighehsaz/ISNA/AFP/GettyImages) #

A woman mourns as rescue teams search for victims in Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province on August 12, 2012. (Arash Khamooshi/ISNA/Reuters) #

Rescue teams search for victims in Varzaqan on August 12, 2012. (Arash Khamooshi/ISNA/Reuters) #

A woman stands next to her injured child outside a hospital in the town of Ahar, some 60 km east of Tabriz, on August 11, 2012. (Kamel Rouhi/Fars News/AFP/GettyImages) #

Injured Iranians lie on the grass outside a hospital in the town of Ahar on August 11, 2012. (Kamel Rouhi/Fars News/AFP/GettyImages) #

An Iranian medic attends an injured woman as people gather outside a hospital in the town of Ahar on August 11, 2012. (Kamel Rouhi/Fars News/AFP/GettyImages) #

Iranians mourn over the covered bodies of loved ones killed in twin earthquakes in the town of Varzaqan, some 60 km northeast of Tabriz, on August 11, 2012. (Mahsa Jamali/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #

An Iranian family rests in the street in Varzaqan on August 11, 2012. (Hamed Nazari/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #

Women stand near an injured woman resting next to a makeshift clinic set up by Red Crescent aid workers in Varzaqan on August 11, 2012. (Hamed Nazari/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #

A woman tends her injured relative in Varzaqan on August 11, 2012. (Ali Hamed Haghdoost/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #

Residents rescue a woman in the rubble of a house in Sourmah village, near Varzaqan, after twin earthquakes hit northwestern Iran on August 11, 2012. The woman had pulse when rescued and taken to an ambulance. (Farshid Tighehsaz/ISNA/AFP/GettyImages) #

Iranians mourn over the covered bodies of loved ones in the village Baje-Baj, near the town of Varzaqan, on August 12, 2012. (Atta Kenare/AFP/GettyImages) #

Earthquake victims walk past rubble and demolished houses in this undated handout photo taken in an undisclosed location in northwest Iran, where rescue workers frantically combed the rubble of dozens of villages throughout the night and into Sunday as medical staff desperately tried to save lives. (Hamed Nazari/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #

A man holds the body of a baby as rescue teams search for victims in the earthquake-stricken village of Varzaghan on August 11, 2012. (Farshid Tighehsaz/ISNA/AFP/GettyImages) #

Rescuers recover a body during a search for victims in an earthquake-stricken village in an undisclosed location in northwest Iran on August 12, 2012. (Roohollah Vahdati/ISNA/Reuters) #

A resident from the village of Baje-Baj, near the town of Varzaqan, sits on top of the rubble of his destroyed home on August 12, 2012. (Atta Kenare/AFP/GettyImages) #

Relatives pray over bodies recovered in the earthquake-stricken village of Varzaqan on August 12, 2012. (Arash Khamooshi/ISNA/Reuters) #

An earthquake victim mourns over the body of a relative in Varzaqan on August 12, 2012. (Arash Khamooshi/ISNA/Reuters) #

A man stands near damaged houses in Varzaqan on August 12, 2012. (Arash Khamooshi/ISNA/Reuters) #

A man cries at an undisclosed village in East Azerbaijan province in Iran, date unreported. (Hamed Nazari/Mehr News/AFP/GettyImages) #