Toll in Iranian earthquake rises to 8,000, UN says

The death toll in Tuesday's earthquake in southeastern Iran has risen to 8, 000, with 1,000 people still buried in the rubble and 60,000 people injured, the United Nations Disaster Relief Agency reports. A UN spokesman said the latest estimate of casualties was based on information supplied by the Iranian authorities to the UN resident representative in Tehran and relayed by him to the relief agency.

The agency said it was sending an earthquake specialist to Iran in response to an appeal by officials for assistance. More than 1,000 people were killed in an earthquake in the same region la st month.