HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

March 3, 2011. No more survivors to be found from Christchurch earthquake

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

Relief officials in earthquake-stricken Christchurch said on March 2nd that there were likely to be no more survivors found and that the task was now recovery, local media said. Specialized personnel and volunteers continued to scour buildings toppled or damaged by the magnitude 6.3 earthquake on February 22nd for bodies, with the death toll reaching 161 as of March 2nd. Officials named the first foreign victims - two Israeli nationals. Dozens of foreign students from Japan, China, Thailand, the Philippines, and elsewhere were believed dead but not yet identified. A number of bodies are believed trapped in the Christchurch Cathedral, the Grand Chancellor hotel, the Canterbury TV building, and the Pyne Gould Guiness building. Officials, meanwhile, continued to struggle to return power, transportation, and sewage services. The Lyttelton port operated at 40% capacity on March 2nd with the tunnel linking it to Christchurch only open to emergency vehicles.