Christchurch counts the human cost of killer quake

This image circulating on Twitter, said to be taken moments after the earthquake hit on Tuesday, shows the extent of the devastation of the city of Christchurch. Source: AdelaideNow

Two babies and dozens of foreign students are among at least 113 people confirmed dead in the Christchurch earthquake disaster with 228 people missing, officials said.

At the civil defence centre, strain was showing on the faces of hundreds of rescue and welfare personnel who have been working long hours since Tuesday's quake to find survivors among the rubble.

They have not been rewarded for their efforts since the last live rescue at 3pm on Wednesday.

One worker, Mary Leeder, wiped tears away as she talked about going back in.

"I know it's best, it has to be done, but I'm starting to hate this. I just want to get out of here," she said, pulling on her wet weather gear.

In the heart of the CBD, workers face the grim task of scouring every building looking for bodies and hoping for that miracle - a survivor.

The effort aside, the area, about one kilometre in diameter, remains eerily quiet.

Huge department store, cafes, small shops, galleries, council chambers and majestic villas sit vacant, their owners obeying police orders to stay away.

Jayden Harris, nine months, and Baxter Gowland, five months, were confirmed as the earthquake's youngest victims but the disaster did not discriminate.

It killed television identities, businessmen, students and a tattooist as it shook Christchurch to its knees.

NZ Prime Minister John Key last night put his nation on notice that the death toll could be even higher.

"We are very fearful tonight that the death toll could be much greater than anyone has ever feared," he said.

However, because the disaster identification process is so complex due to the state of some victims, many of the 113 confirmed dead could be among the more than 200 counted missing.

Officials have earmarked the destroyed Canterbury Television building as the epicentre of the deaths - up to 120 people may have perished there.

Among them are more than 50 Asian students - from China, Japan and the Philippines - caught in the building where English language classes were held.

Half an hour after the quake, Filipino Rhea Mae Sumalpong, texted her Australian mother Marlene about being trapped in the building.

"Ma, we're trapped at CTV building. We need help, rescue us," NZPA reported. Her fate is unknown. Superintendent Dave Cliff warned that no one else was now likely to emerge alive from the TV building, with just 23 bodies retrieved so far.

On the missing, he held grave fears for all of them, based on the checks already conducted by police.

"We also need to to be prepared to accept that number may grow," he said of the overall toll.

"Because there may be people from overseas who have not yet been reported missing to us."

New Zealand media have named several victims of the disaster, including high-profile TV newsreader and producer Donna Manning, 42, whose teenage children maintained a vigil 50m from the rubble of the TV building yesterday.

Their home also was robbed on Wednesday in yet another blow.

A baby was reportedly killed on Tuesday as its mother fled in the heart of the city while Jaime Gilbert, the New Zealand Herald reported, was trapped under rubble while running from a city bar.

Murray Wood, the managing director of Canterbury TV, also perished, as did tattoo apprentice Matti Makeekan. The huge death toll, based on current evidence, is likely to peak between 200 and 300.

In another blow, Christchurch also suffered another series of aftershocks last night, one of which was strong enough to cause further structural damage.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker also warned of worse to come.

"This is the first of some very hard announcements," he said.

"We need to be realistic about the scale of what has happened."

Disaster victim identification experts who worked on the Black Saturday victims will help Christchurch coroner Sue Johnson identify the dead.

She promised yesterday to take care of the victims throughout what will be an exhaustive identification process.

"At the moment, the bodies are in a safe place," she said.

"We are looking after them and there is someone with them all the time."

The city, meanwhile, remains in chaos, many residents without water, power and gas.

Shops are starting to run out of bottled water and some other essential items.

Fuel also is in short short supply and such basics as going to the toilet have become a luxury.