At Least 65 Dead In New Zealand Earthquake
The New York Times reports:
SYDNEY, Australia — A powerful earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, during the city’s busy lunchtime rush on Tuesday, flattening office buildings, destroying several homes and killing scores of people, officials and eyewitnesses said.
Prime Minister John Key said that at least 65 people were confirmed dead in the 6.3-magnitude quake. The mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker, declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of the city’s downtown area, The Associated Press reported.
Television footage from the scene by 3 News New Zealand showed emergency crews pulling shaken and injured victims from the stricken buildings, including one four-story structure, the Pine Gould Guinness building, that was partially damaged by the temblor. Emergency crews were working to evacuate people from another building that had caught fire shortly after the quake.
The search and rescue mission was being further complicated by repeated strong aftershocks to the zone, officials said.
“Government agencies and emergency services are still putting together a picture of the damage,” New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Bill English, told reporters in the capital, Wellington.
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