Christchurch hit by major earthquake
Multiple fatalities and injuries as New Zealand's South Island hit by 6.3 magnitude quake
A major earthquake struck the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch in the early hours of this morning causing multiple fatalities and injuring many people.
Victims were said to have been among two buses that were struck by falling buildings, while emergency workers were moving to rescue survivors trapped in partially collapsed buildings in locations around the country's second largest city.
All airports and airspace in the country were shut down and all flights into, out of and around the country were put on hold immediately after the earthquake.
Airways NZ, New Zealand's national Air Traffic Control organisation, is based in Christchurch.
Local TV showed bodies being pulled out of rubble strewn around the city centre, though it was unclear whether any of them were alive, but police reported "multiple fatalities" after the 6.3 magnitude quake struck during the busy lunchtime.
It was the second time in five months the city has been struck by a major earthquake. The epicentre of last September's earthquake was 30 miles west of Christchurch. About 100 people were treated at hospital with earthquake-related injuries on that occasion.
Power and water was cut and hundreds of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens blared throughout Christchurch in the aftermath of the quake, which was centred three miles from the city.
Live video footage of the quake showed damaged buildings throughout the city centre, with bricks and shattered concrete strewn across the pavement.
The city's emblematic cathedral was reported to have been among the buildings that took significant damage, while cars were buried under rubble and roads buckled as the tremor opened fissures in the ground.
"It is huge. We just don't know if there are people under this rubble," a priest standing outside the rubble of a damaged cathedral told New Ze! aland te levision.
There were reports of further debris falling from already damaged buildings and people were evacuated from some offices in the central business district.
Local media painted a picture of chaos as filing cabinets toppled over, computers were thrown from desks and a city bridge was made impassable.
The mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker, said he was on the top floor of the city council building when the quake hit, throwing him across the room.
"I got down onto the street and there were scenes of great confusion, a lot of very upset people," he said. "I know of people in our building who are injured and I've had some reports of serious injuries throughout the city."
Radio New Zealand reported that staffers in its Christchurch newsroom had to cling to their desks during the shaking, with large filing cabinets toppling over.
"What I can see from where I am in the central city is that there are significant amounts of additional damage," Parker said.
The US Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at a depth of 2.5 miles . Christchurch has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks since a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck on 4 September last year, causing extensive damage and a handful of injuries, but no deaths. New Zealand, which sits between the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates, records on average more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which about 20 would normally top magnitude 5.0.
Christchurch is home to about 350,000 people and is considered a tourist center and gateway to the South Island.
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