News

Earthquake hits Christchurch, New Zealand

Source: NZ Herald - 8.00am Friday Feb 25, 2011

At a media conference in Wellington this morning, Mr Carter said the death toll had risen to 102 overnight with the recovery of five more bodies from the Christchurch CBD. Soon after, Superintendent Russell Gibson told TV3 that another body had been found and the toll had reached 103. Mr Carter said he understood the last "live rescue" of a survivor had been about 3pm on Wednesday. That was the miracle rescue of Ann Bodkin, who was discovered in the collapsed Pyne Gould building 26 hours after the earthquake struck. "We are still hopeful there will still be people rescued but it is becoming unlikely," Mr Carter said. Mr Carter said rescuers would "just continue on with the search until we are satisfied there are no more bodies to recover". "It is not until you are down in Christchurch that you have an appreciation of the devastation - it is unbelievable." Rescuers' energies were currently focused on where they know the bodies were, he said. But Mr Carter said the teams would today begin conducting grid searches of places such as alleyways where they suspected people might have been trapped by falling rubble as they went to and from lunch on Tuesday. Mr Carter said search and rescue workers in Christchurch were doing an "amazing, outstanding job" and were releasing information as quickly as they could. "One of things we do need to understand is the teams of people working down there are doing an outstanding job. They are doing everything they can working day in day out. "These people - a lot of them have their own family and personal issues to deal with. "They are heroes."

THE NUMBERS (as of 8.00am Friday Feb 25, 2011)

103 confirmed fatalities - four names released
228 missing
70 live rescues
10 international teams on the ground
559 rescuers on the ground
594 seen by emergency departments - 164 of those admitted to hospital
2000 people have had treatment for injuries
11 patients in intensive care
452 people in welfare centres (John Carter said this number was down on the September quake as more people were self-evacuating the city)
20,131 calls to the Government's help-line 
5 active welfare centres