Iran quake survivors plead for help

TEHRAN, Nov 14 (BBC): Iranians living outdoors in bitterly cold temperatures after an earthquake are making desperate pleas for help.

About 440 people were killed and about 7,000 injured when the quake hit near the Iran-Iraq border on Sunday.

The government is scrambling to get aid to the worst-hit Kermanshah province, where hundreds of homes were destroyed.

President Hassan Rouhani, visiting the region, said state-built houses suffered more damage, and those responsible would be held accountable.

Temperatures in Kermanshah province fell close to freezing for the second night in succession.

Ali Gulani, 42, lives in the province's badly-hit town of Qasr-e-Shirin, and told BBC Persian people were burning crates to try to stay warm.

"We are living in a tent and we don't have enough food or water," he said. "You can hear children crying, it's too cold. They are holding on to their parents to warm themselves - it's pretty bad."

Mr Gulani said there were an average of three strong aftershocks an hour, provoking panic.