75 dead, 300 missing in shattered Christchurch

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/23/3146299.htm


75 dead, 300 missing in shattered Christchurch

Updated 2 hours 30 minutes ago



Christchurch mayor Bob Parker says the death toll from yesterday's devastating earthquake now stands at 75, with another 300 people missing in the rubble of the shattered New Zealand city.

Mr Parker was speaking as rescue teams continued to scour collapsed buildings for survivors of yesterday's 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which caused widespread destruction across the city.

He said 55 bodies were in the city's temporary morgue and emergency crews knew of another 20 bodies still stuck in the rubble.

Police say rescuers have had to amputate limbs to free survivors from collapsed buildings.

"There is incredible carnage right throughout the city," Superintendent Russell Gibson told Radio New Zealand this morning. "There are bodies littering the streets, they are trapped in cars and crushed under rubble.

But police said an earlier report that 15 people had been rescued from the rubble of the collapsed CTV building was false.

Rescue teams have now been pulled out of the CTV building as the rescue effort focuses on the collapsed Pyne Gould building in the city's CBD.

Mr Parker stressed the 300 missing people could be staying with friends, and urged them to get in touch with authorities.

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New Zealand prime minister John Key declared a national state of emergency this morning and will be meeting with authorities in Christchurch later today.

"On behalf of New Zealand, we feel your pain as only a small nation can," Mr Key said at a press conference this morning.

"This devastating event marks the start of a long journey for your city. It will be a difficult journey but progress is certain ... Christchurch will rise again.

"New Zealand will walk this journey with you. Christchurch, this is not your test, this is New Zealand's test.

"Though lives lost will never be replaced, though your city will never be the same again, you will rebuild your lives."

Australian killed

This morning, Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirmed an Australian resident was among those killed in the earthquake, and said there were concerns for four more Australians.

Ms Gillard told a Canberra press conference "a long-term Australian resident of New Zealand origin has lost his life in this disaster".

She said a stranger tried to help the man in the last hours of his life, and she thanked him for his efforts.

"Reports are sketchy and we are still working through the details, but it appears this person is a family man and our condolences go to his family," she said.

"I'm sure many Australians have watched with a great deal of admiration as New Zealanders get about the task of search and rescue. This is a very, very difficult time for the people of New Zealand - it is also a difficult time for Australians waiting for news.

"We will be doing everything we can to work with our New Zealand family."

Ms Gillard said officials had confirmed the safety of 417 Australians in Christchurch, but said 1,511 Australians had been registered as being in the city.

DFAT's consular assistance hotline has received more than 5,000 calls.

"There are 8,000 Australians in the broader Canterbury region, we are still seeking to confirm the safety of 1,094 Australians," Ms Gillard said.

"This is going to take some time, we are dealing with large numbers and are dealing with very, very difficult conditions.

"We are sending in officials and they will be working as hard as they can to confirm the status of Australians in Christchurch.

"Our consular team will be assisting people to make arrangement to travel from Christchurch and return home.

"It's obviously been a harrowing night, there have been aftershocks and search and rescue efforts are underway."

Australian's Deputy High Commissioner to New Zealand has been in Christchurch from the beginning of the disaster and Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says a team of Australian officials is working to find missing Australians.

"We're working our way through each of these cases methodically to make sure we get everything right," he said.

"We're also trying to connect up people who have literally lost each other in the middle of Christchurch itself.

"Our experience of these things in the past is that it is frustratingly slow to start with ... then the confirmations seem to come through quite quickly.

Mr Rudd warns it is still a very fluid situation in the New Zealand city.

"There is an Australian crisis centre that had been established in Christchurch at the Copthorne Commodore Hotel," he said.

"If there are Australians trying to make contact with people back home ... that is the place to go to." Tweet