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.

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.

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

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.

Hope is fading for hundreds of people missing for a second night after the Christchurch earthquake.

Dozens are missing or confirmed dead in an earthquake that could have claimed as many as 300. Here are some of the stories of the victims.

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

At least one Australian "family man" is among the Christchurch earthquake dead and the Australian government has warned the public to brace for more bad news.

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.

There are genuine fears that the Crusaders will have to find a new home for the remainder of Super Rugby season.