Christchurch reeling from second major quake
Irish Sun Tuesday 22nd February, 2011
Christchurch is reeling Wednesday in the aftermath of a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake which struck the city at 1240pm on Tuesday, the second major earthquake to hit New Zealand's third largest city in five months.
Search and rescue teams, many who arrived overnight from Australia, are scouring collapsed buildings, for trapped survivors. Emergency woirkers however were called out of the 26-storey Hotel Grand Chancellor, one of the tallest buildings in the city, when engineers deemed it on the brink of collapse. The building had move more than a metre and is now leaning to the east.
The unofficial death toll Wednesday afternoon was elevated to 75. Superintendent Dave Cliff confirmed there were 55 bodies in a temporary morgue and twenty more were being taken there.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said 300 people were still listed as missing.
Prime Minister John Key said the main focus by everyone concerned right now is to search for and free trapped survivors and look after those that have been injured or lost loved ones in the tragedy.
Telephone and Internet services are still down, power has been severly disrupted, and 80% of the city is without water.
The New Zealand army has deployed hundreds of soldiers to the embattled city to assist in rescue operations, and hundreds more are on the way.
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