Iranian state television claims at least 40 people have been killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the border with Pakistan.

The quake has been described as the strongest to hit Iran in more than half a century.

It flattened homes and offices there but is said to have caused buildings to sway as far away as New Delhi, Dubai and Bahrain.

Meanwhile a hospital spokesman in Pakistan said at least 5 people had been killed there. High-rise buildings in Dubai were evacuated after the tremor.

The earthquake happened around 50 miles beneath the surface in an area prone to earthquake activity. The remote and mountainous region is around 115 miles south-east of the city of Zahedan.

The Red Crescent Society in Iran has sent rescue teams to the area. It says it is facing a "complicated emergency situation".

The tremors came a week after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded 60 miles southeast of Bushehr which is the site of the Iranian nuclear reactor.