Christchurch: Nearly 400 people dead or missing in Christchurch after New Zealand’s worst natural disaster in 80 years, news agencies reported on Wednesday.
Rescue workers were busy to recover trapped survivors. Prime Minister John Key declaring a national emergency said that the region had suffered death and destruction on a dreadful scale.
Rescuers had to amputate limbs from survivors to free them from smouldering ruins of buildings reduced to debris in minutes, while dazed survivors were plucked from the rubble in a desperate overnight rescue mission.
Rescuers had recovered 75 bodies since the 6.3-magnitude quake struck at lunchtime Tuesday, and about 300 people were still missing, officials said.
The quake was the deadliest to hit New Zealand since 256 people died in a 1931 tremor, and it came six months after a 7.0-magnitude quake weakened buildings in Christchurch but miraculously resulted in no deaths.
The latest tremor toppled many buildings and left central Christchurch strewn with debris. The city’s landmark cathedral lost its spire. Dozens of aftershocks rocked the city Tuesday and overnight, hampering rescue efforts.
Police Superintendent Russell Gibson warned that the toll was certain to rise as more than 500 emergency workers combed through shattered buildings, listening out for any signs of life.
Most of the city remained without power and Gibson said rescue crews working through the night had freed 20-30 people, some at desperate cost.
Gibson said rescuers were going door to door through the city centre, with efforts concentrating on two city centre office buildings where survivors had managed to communicate with them.
Prime Minister Key, who has described the disaster as possibly “New Zealand’s darkest day”, said: “No words that can spare our pain. We are witnessing the havoc caused by a violent and ruthless act of nature.”
Twenty-four Japanese citizens were among the missing, including 11 foreign-language students, Japanese reports said.
Japan, Australia and the United States were among countries sending rescuers to help.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who is New Zealand’s head of state, said she was “utterly shocked” while US President Barack Obama offered his “deepest condolences”, as expressions of sympathy poured in from around the globe.
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