@klassic_pHundreds of people remain missing as search efforts in New Zealand continue in the aftermath of Tuesday’s powerful earthquake in Christchurch.
Officials say 71 bodies have been recovered so far but more are known to still be under the rubble.
Foreign rescue workers are arriving to join the search effort, amid warnings that time is running out for survivors. No-one was found alive overnight.
The 6.3 magnitude quake is the country’s biggest disaster in 80 years.
The New Zealand Prime Minster, John Key, has declared a national state of emergency and authorities have imposed a curfew.
Mr Key said the quake had “wreaked death and destruction on a dreadful scale” in the country’s second biggest city, six months after a 7.0-magnitude quake hit Christchurch causing much less damage.
Civil Defence Minister John Carter told reporters that 71 bodies have been taken to morgues in the city so far. Officials had previously said 75 people were dead but Mr Carter said this had not yet been confirmed.
