Police continue car recovery in Christchurch

A hydraulic demolition jaw carries a car down from the top floor of Smith City's carpark during it's demolition. Photo / Geoff Sloan

Police today started recovering vehicles from the Farmers' car park in quake-ravaged Christchurch.

Contractors spent the night reinforcing access ramps into the building in preparation, Sergeant Bruce Adams said.

Work to retrieve vehicles from the damaged Smiths City car park was also continuing, with the help of contractors and the building owner, he said.

Police were using a crane to lift the cars out of the building, Mr Adams said,

He urged people with vehicles in the cordoned central business district to give their keys to the Vehicle Recovery Team and provide reasonable proof of identification.

Owners would be contacted once their vehicle was recovered, he said.

- NZPA