WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A powerful quake pounded the already bruised city of Christchurch today, killing at least 65 people and sending rescuers scrambling to help those trapped under collapsed buildings.
The 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the country’s second-largest city around lunchtime, collapsing buildings and sending bricks and other heavy debris toppling into busy city streets. It was the second major quake to strike Christchurch, a city of about 350,000 people, in the past five months.
Prime Minister John Key told reporters that the death toll was at least 65 and is expected to rise further.
Witnesses said the quake destroyed the iconic stone Christchurch Cathedral, its spire toppled into a central city square, and two buses were crushed under falling buildings.
Video footage showed sections of buildings collapsed in streets strewn with bricks and shattered concrete. Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, and thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered the streets as sirens blared.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city center.
Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water. Some workers were stuck in office towers, and firefighters climbed ladders to pluck those trapped on roofs to safety.
Resident Gary Moore said he and 19 other colleagues were trapped in their 12th-floor office after the stairwell gave way in the quake.
“We watched the cathedral collapse out our window while we were holding onto the walls,” Moore said. “Every aftershock sends us rushing under the desks. It’s very unnerving, but we can clearly see there are other priorities out the window.”
The multistory Pyne Gould Guinness Building, housing more than 200 workers, collapsed, and an unknown number of people were trapped inside.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 3 miles from the city. A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit shortly afterward.
“When the shaking had stopped, I looked out of the window, which gives a great view onto Christchurch, and there was just dust,” said City Councilman Barry Corbett, who was on one of the top floors of the City Council building when the quake struck. “It was evident straight away that a lot of buildings had gone.”
