65 dead as quake hits New Zealand
Source: Agencies |
February 23, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Rescue teams were working under searchlights early this morning trying to find scores of people trapped under collapsed buildings after an earthquake struck Christchurch in New Zealand, killing at least 65 people.
About 120 survivors have already been rescued from the rubble, but the death toll is expected to rise following the second strong quake to hit the city of almost 400,000 people in five months.
Office workers trapped under collapsed buildings sent messages to the outside as rescuers with dogs scrambled to save them and dozens of others trapped in New Zealand's second-largest city.
Last night, thousands of people moved into temporary shelters at schools and community halls while others, including tourists who had abandoned their hotels, huddled in hastily pitched tents and under plastic sheeting as drizzling rain fell, while the Red Cross tried to find them accommodation.
Yesterday's 6.3-magnitude quake toppled the spire of the city's historic stone cathedral, flattened tall buildings and sent chunks of concrete and bricks hurtling onto cars, buses and pedestrians below.
The quake even shook off a massive chunk of ice from New Zealand's biggest glacier some 190 kilometers to the east.
Web designer Nathaniel Boehm was on his lunch break when the quake struck just before 1pm. He saw the eaves of buildings cascade onto the street, burying people below.
"People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," he said. "It was horrific."
Rescuers, many of them office workers, were seen dragging severely injured people from the rubble of the Pyne Gould Guinness Building, where more than 200 people worked. Screams could be heard from those still inside.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said it was impossible to say how many were still trapped across the city, but it was estimated to be more than 100. He said that 200 workers skilled in rescues would be searching throughout the night.
"We've got tens of thousands of people just like me who are feeling very scared, very worried and very uncertain of what this night will bring and frankly very, very depressed about what we'll hear tomorrow," Parker told reporters. "It's not going to be good news and we need to steel ourselves to understand that."
Some people trapped under collapsed buildings were able to contact their loved ones using their mobile phones. "I rang my kids to say goodbye," said Ann Voss, interviewed by TV3 from underneath her desk where she was trapped in a collapsed office block.
"It was absolutely horrible. My daughter was crying and I was crying because I honestly thought that was it. You know, you want to tell them you love them don't you?"
She said she could hear other people still alive in the building and had called out to them and communicated by knocking on rubble.
"I'm not going to give up," she said. "I'm going to stay awake now. They better come and get me."
A search and rescue team was being flown in from Australia, and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she had offered New Zealand counterpart John Key any other support he requested.
In the immediate aftermath, dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered the streets as sirens and car alarms blared. With ambulance services overwhelmed, some victims were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.
"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Key said after rushing to the city within hours of the quake. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day."
About a dozen visiting Japanese students were among those feared trapped in the rubble of the Canterbury Television building. Some of the students called their parents back home to say they were in a collapsed building, while one of their teachers was able to send an email, Japanese officials said.
One student from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages remained trapped, while 11 were unaccounted for and could still be in the building, said an official from Toyama.
Eight students and two teachers from the school had been freed from the wreckage, he said.
The earthquake knocked out power and phone lines and burst pipes, flooding the streets with water. Firefighters climbed extension ladders to pluck people trapped on roofs of office towers to safety.
Plumes of gray smoke drifted into the air from fires burning in the rubble, and helicopters used giant buckets to drench them with water.
Two large aftershocks hit the city within two hours, and officials warned people to stay away from damaged buildings because of the danger of further collapses.
A US delegation of 43 government, business and community leaders was in Christchurch for a United States New Zealand Partnership Forum meeting. All were thought to be safe.
Nine US Congressmen attending the meeting were reported to have left the city before the quake struck.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch on September 4, but caused no deaths.
The latest one may have been deadlier because it was closer to where people live and work, centered 5 kilometers from the city. It also may not have been as deep underground.
About 120 survivors have already been rescued from the rubble, but the death toll is expected to rise following the second strong quake to hit the city of almost 400,000 people in five months.
Office workers trapped under collapsed buildings sent messages to the outside as rescuers with dogs scrambled to save them and dozens of others trapped in New Zealand's second-largest city.
Last night, thousands of people moved into temporary shelters at schools and community halls while others, including tourists who had abandoned their hotels, huddled in hastily pitched tents and under plastic sheeting as drizzling rain fell, while the Red Cross tried to find them accommodation.
Yesterday's 6.3-magnitude quake toppled the spire of the city's historic stone cathedral, flattened tall buildings and sent chunks of concrete and bricks hurtling onto cars, buses and pedestrians below.
The quake even shook off a massive chunk of ice from New Zealand's biggest glacier some 190 kilometers to the east.
Web designer Nathaniel Boehm was on his lunch break when the quake struck just before 1pm. He saw the eaves of buildings cascade onto the street, burying people below.
"People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," he said. "It was horrific."
Rescuers, many of them office workers, were seen dragging severely injured people from the rubble of the Pyne Gould Guinness Building, where more than 200 people worked. Screams could be heard from those still inside.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said it was impossible to say how many were still trapped across the city, but it was estimated to be more than 100. He said that 200 workers skilled in rescues would be searching throughout the night.
"We've got tens of thousands of people just like me who are feeling very scared, very worried and very uncertain of what this night will bring and frankly very, very depressed about what we'll hear tomorrow," Parker told reporters. "It's not going to be good news and we need to steel ourselves to understand that."
Some people trapped under collapsed buildings were able to contact their loved ones using their mobile phones. "I rang my kids to say goodbye," said Ann Voss, interviewed by TV3 from underneath her desk where she was trapped in a collapsed office block.
"It was absolutely horrible. My daughter was crying and I was crying because I honestly thought that was it. You know, you want to tell them you love them don't you?"
She said she could hear other people still alive in the building and had called out to them and communicated by knocking on rubble.
"I'm not going to give up," she said. "I'm going to stay awake now. They better come and get me."
A search and rescue team was being flown in from Australia, and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she had offered New Zealand counterpart John Key any other support he requested.
In the immediate aftermath, dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered the streets as sirens and car alarms blared. With ambulance services overwhelmed, some victims were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.
"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Key said after rushing to the city within hours of the quake. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day."
About a dozen visiting Japanese students were among those feared trapped in the rubble of the Canterbury Television building. Some of the students called their parents back home to say they were in a collapsed building, while one of their teachers was able to send an email, Japanese officials said.
One student from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages remained trapped, while 11 were unaccounted for and could still be in the building, said an official from Toyama.
Eight students and two teachers from the school had been freed from the wreckage, he said.
The earthquake knocked out power and phone lines and burst pipes, flooding the streets with water. Firefighters climbed extension ladders to pluck people trapped on roofs of office towers to safety.
Plumes of gray smoke drifted into the air from fires burning in the rubble, and helicopters used giant buckets to drench them with water.
Two large aftershocks hit the city within two hours, and officials warned people to stay away from damaged buildings because of the danger of further collapses.
A US delegation of 43 government, business and community leaders was in Christchurch for a United States New Zealand Partnership Forum meeting. All were thought to be safe.
Nine US Congressmen attending the meeting were reported to have left the city before the quake struck.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch on September 4, but caused no deaths.
The latest one may have been deadlier because it was closer to where people live and work, centered 5 kilometers from the city. It also may not have been as deep underground.
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