Iran dramatically revises down death toll from December quake
Iran (AP) - Iran lowered the death toll Monday in last year's devastating earthquake by more than one-third, to 26,271.
Government officials had previously said that more than 41,000 people died in the magnitude 6.6 quake that hit the southeastern city of Bam. But State Statistics Centre official Abbas Ali Zaali said Monday that 26,271 people died in the earthquake, which flattened most of the city on Dec. 26, state radio reported. "A big reason for this discrepancy is that some of the dead were counted twice due to the confusion and disorder following the quake," the radio quoted Zaali as saying.