At least 65 killed as quake hits New Zealand on 'darkest day'

It was the second major quake to hit Christchurch, a city of 350,000, in five months, though the temblor caused far more destruction than a stronger September quake that struck before dawn on a weekend.

More than 100 people, including as many as a dozen visiting Japanese students, were thought to be trapped in the rubble as darkness - and drizzling rain - fell.

A Chinese student from Guangzhou was also trapped in a collapsed building, CCTV cited Cheng Lei, Chinese embassy counselor , as saying.

"We have asked the rescue center to take immediate measures to save her."

The city's iconic cathedral lost its spire. Multistory buildings collapsed in on themselves and streets were strewn with bricks and shattered concrete.

Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, while thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens and car alarms blared.

"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Prime Minister John Key said after rushing to the city within hours of the quake.

He said the death toll may rise. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day."

Ambulance services were quickly overwhelmed. Groups of people helped victims clutching bleeding wounds as others were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.

Nathanael Boehm, a Web designer, said he was standing near a tram track when the quake struck just before 1 pm.

"It was horrific. People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," Boehm said, adding that he believed some of them had been crushed to death.

Others were able to call out using their mobile phones, reaching family, officials and media.

"I rang my kids to say goodbye," said Ann Voss, interviewed by TV3 from underneath her desk where she was trapped in a collapsed office building.

"It was absolutely horrible. My daughter was crying and I was crying because I honestly thought that was it. You know, you want to tell them you love them, don't you?"

She said she could hear other people still alive in the building, and had called out to them and communicated by knocking on rubble.

"I'm not going to give up," she said. "I'm going to stay awake now. They better come and get me."

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city center.

He said it was impossible to say how many people were trapped in the rubble, but that it was estimated to be more than 100.

Troops were deployed to help people get out and to throw up a security cordon around the stricken area. Residents throughout the city were urged to stay home or with neighbors and conserve water and food.

The airport was closed. Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water.

During hours of chaos in the city, people dug through rubble with their hands to free people trapped.

Parker said rescue teams with sniffer dogs were fanning out across the city and would work through the night.

Officials had established relief centers in schools and community halls, where food was being served to thousands of sheltering people and donated blankets were being handed out.

The US Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 5 km from the city at a depth of 4 km.

Christchurch is built on silt, sand and gravel, with a watertable beneath. In an earthquake, the water rises, mixing with the sand and turning the ground into a swamp, swallowing up roads and cars. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version