TEHRAN - Five people were killed and 20 others injured after an earthquake hit eastern Iran's South Khorasan Province Wednesday night, local media reported.

The quake measuring 5.5 degrees on the Richter scale struck at 20:38 local time (1708 GMT).

Its epicenter, with a depth of 9 km, was at 33.50 degrees north altitude and 59.54 degrees east longitude, near Zahan City, according to Iranian Seismological Center.