IRNA � A 5.9 earthquake on Richter scale which shook the city of Tark in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan in the early hours of Friday claimed the lives of five people.

The quake was also easily felt in other parts of the northwest Iran including West Azarbaijan,Gilan, Zanjan and Ardabil provinces.

According to the head of the East Azarbaijan Center for Medical Assistance and Emergencies Farzad Rahmani, so far five people have lost their lives in the earthquake.

In an interview with IRNA, he also put the put the number of casualties at 20.

Mohammad Bagher Artabar, Director General of the Crisis Management Department in the East Azarbaijan Province also said that 30 residential units had been destroyed due to the earthquake.

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook suburbs of eastern Azerbaijan at 2:17:03 am local on Friday.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 8 kilometers, according to the University of Tehran Seismological Center.

The epicenter of the earthquake was recorded at a position of 47.64 north latitude and 37.76 east longitude.

Mohammad Baqer Honar added that the magnitude of the earthquake was such that it was felt in many other cities including the province's capital Tabriz and other surrounding cities.

Based on the reports by the provincial emergency department, four crisis management and expert teams have been dispatched to various parts of the province namely Sarab, Bostanabad and Miyaneh.