Tattoo apprentice Matthew Stuart McEachen (Matti) died as Southern Ink Tattoo in Manchester St came crashing to the ground.

At least 14 were still trapped and facing a second cold and lonely night in the mangled PGG building.

Christchurch hospitals are busy but coping as patient numbers swell from the earthquake.

Murray John Wood's day job was managing director of Canterbury Television. But outside his office he would often be found hammering the keys of his piano around the Garden City.

Philip John McDonald (Phil), 57, an accountant with Leech and Partners, was working at the firm's offices in the Pyne Gould Corporation building in Cambridge Terrace when the earthquake struck.

Their task is to enter highly restricted and prohibited areas, putting their lives on the line to save others.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday saw for himself the grim situation confronting earthquake survivors.

The Crusaders early this morning withdrew from their Super 15 match against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.

Bear Grylls, extreme adventurer, is in New Zealand and has some survival tips for earthquake victims.

Seaweed cuisine is enjoying a wave of popularity worldwide.

Jeff Pelesa Sanft, 32, was travelling on a bus in Christchurch's city centre when the earthquake struck.

Jovy Servitillo knew she was in trouble - she was on the 23rd floor of the tallest building in Christchurch.

'Ten seconds either way' was the difference between life and death for CTV building survivor David Horsley.

Yesterday's quake - the death toll for which stands at 75 - may prove to be NZ's worst natural disaster.

Police say more than 100 people may have been lost in Christchurch's quake-ravaged Canterbury TV building, which they say is "unsurvivable". The official toll from yesterday's devastating quake stands at 75.

Massive earthquake damage in Christchurch means Kirifi Mila, the New Zealand soldier killed in Afghanistan last week, will be buried in Hamilton without a formal military farewell from his army mates.

Fifteen CTV staff are believed to have died when their central Christchurch building collapsed after yesterday's magnitude 6.3 quake, CTV chairman Nick Smith says.

At least 14 people are missing from two companies in the Pyne Gould building in Christchurch tonight.

A woman trapped in rubble left a harrowing message for her son, in which she said she didn't think she would survive.

Declaring a national state of emergency is an option when a disaster or other event is or is likely to be of such severity that it is beyond the resources of the local Civil Defence groups.

Police have abandoned all hope of finding survivors at the collapsed Canterbury TV building in central Christchurch, with a police chief saying he was "100 per cent" certain those trapped inside were dead.

All Christchurch AMI Insurance branches have been forced to close due to quake damage.