New Zealand earthquake: Christchurch deaths rise to 75

Police have said there is "incredible carnage right throughout the city", with "bodies littering the streets".

More than 300 people are still missing. Forty-eight were pulled out from collapsed buildings alive overnight.

The search has now been abandoned at one office block, but elsewhere a woman was rescued after more than 24 hours.

"The situation is that we don't believe this site is now survivable," said police area commander Inspector Dave Lawry near the remains of the Canterbury Television building. "It was a hard choice and my heart goes out to all the families."

He said rescuers now needed to concentrate their resources elsewhere in areas where survivors were more likely to be found.

About 100 people are believed to be inside. Earlier, the head of the fire service denied reports that 15 people trapped inside had been rescued.

The building housed a language school and Insp Lawry said some foreign students would be among the dead there.

At the Pyne Gould Guinness building, office worker Ann Bodkin was pulled out alive on Wednesday afternoon, after being trapped for more than 24 hours, and was reunited with her waiting husband.

The authorities have imposed a night-time curfew in the worst-affected areas of the city.

The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 5km (3.1 miles) on Tuesday lunchtime, when the South Island city was at its busiest.

It was Christchurch's second major tremor in five months, and New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster in 80 years; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version