His legs were amputated in the dark with a fold-out knife and a hacksaw - but Brian Coker is smiling.

A woman phoned her father from the rubble of the CTV building - and then her phone cut off.

He became an overnight celebrity when TV crews captured him tossing aside concrete slabs like Lego to rescue strangers.

Jo Nicholls-Parker has taken her role as mayoress seriously in the wake of the earthquake

CTV survivor Mary-Ann Jackson tells of terror and heartbreak at loss of loved colleagues.

Chamber of Commerce seeks further $20 million injection from Cabinet.

It is 12.51 pm when the earthquake strikes. I have just finished my coffee, am halfway through a toasted sandwich and my girlfriend has just asked me how my day has been.

Olympic hero gets his rightful medal and shows good mile form at fundraising meet

John Key has met people "full of fear" over the fate of missing family members after Tuesday's Christchurch quake.

Free massages, hotel chocolate, coffee and music were all part of the mix on the sports field at Lyttelton Primary School, an area which is affectionately known as "the grassy" by residents in the port town.

Police believe up to 22 bodies are trapped within the devastated Cathedral and its spire.

The official death toll for the Christchurch earthquake has risen to 145 this evening and is expected to increase. Police are gravely concerned for more than 200 missing people.

More than 600 patients have been admitted to Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department since the earthquake, including 164 with serious injuries.

'Do you think Ma has a cut on his head?' This from the little voice beside me, as I stared in incredulous horror at the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake.

Christchurch couple Hamish and Jess McBrearty have welcomed baby Joseph -almost two weeks overdue - into the world.