ID :
165645
Thu, 03/03/2011 - 14:44
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/165645
The shortlink copeid
New Zealand gov't says search for quake survivors over
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, March 3 Kyodo - The search for survivors from last week's devastating earthquake in New Zealand's Christchurch has changed to a grim effort to recover bodies from rubble, the government said Thursday.
''As time has gone on, the chance of finding someone alive has diminished and, sadly, there becomes a point where the response effort shifts in focus from rescue to body recovery,'' Civil Defense Emergency Management National Controller John Hamilton told reporters.
''We have now reached that point,'' he added.
Since the magnitude 6.3 quake struck on Feb. 22, 70 people have been rescued alive, but the last was on Feb. 23.
Police said the death toll stands at 161, up from 159 on Wednesday, but the number of presumed deaths is 220 and more than 200 people are reported as missing in the worst-damaged sites in the city.
Speaking at the same press conference, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said up to 100 foreigners from 20 countries are thought to have been killed in the quake.
He thanked the hundreds of international workers who helped with the search. ''We have never had any capacity -- as no government does -- to deal with a disaster on this scale by ourselves.''
On Wednesday, busloads of families of presumed victims, including 28 Japanese missing since the quake, were taken to see the collapsed Canterbury TV building in central Christchurch where scores were killed and many remain buried, including foreign students who attended an English-language school there.
The Canterbury TV building is one of three main sites in Christchurch where many of the victims died.
Police said last week that up to 120 bodies were believed to be inside the building, where the King's Education language school was located. More than 20 Japanese students are feared to be among the dead.
''As time has gone on, the chance of finding someone alive has diminished and, sadly, there becomes a point where the response effort shifts in focus from rescue to body recovery,'' Civil Defense Emergency Management National Controller John Hamilton told reporters.
''We have now reached that point,'' he added.
Since the magnitude 6.3 quake struck on Feb. 22, 70 people have been rescued alive, but the last was on Feb. 23.
Police said the death toll stands at 161, up from 159 on Wednesday, but the number of presumed deaths is 220 and more than 200 people are reported as missing in the worst-damaged sites in the city.
Speaking at the same press conference, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said up to 100 foreigners from 20 countries are thought to have been killed in the quake.
He thanked the hundreds of international workers who helped with the search. ''We have never had any capacity -- as no government does -- to deal with a disaster on this scale by ourselves.''
On Wednesday, busloads of families of presumed victims, including 28 Japanese missing since the quake, were taken to see the collapsed Canterbury TV building in central Christchurch where scores were killed and many remain buried, including foreign students who attended an English-language school there.
The Canterbury TV building is one of three main sites in Christchurch where many of the victims died.
Police said last week that up to 120 bodies were believed to be inside the building, where the King's Education language school was located. More than 20 Japanese students are feared to be among the dead.
