A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck northwestern Iran on Wednesday, and medical authorities in the area reported that at least 276 people had been injured.

The quake's epicentre was close to the town of Khoy in the province of West Azerbaijan. Khoy Medical Emergency Service was quoted as saying that "276 people have been injured so far, including 68 who were hospitalised for minor fractures."

The quake was about 11.6 km (7.2 miles) from Khowy and at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at 3:51 local time and was followed by several aftershocks according to Iran seismological center. A local official sadi that the the aftershocks have prevented people from returning to their homes.

The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) earlier said that the quake was magnitude 5.5 and close to the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran border region.