Debris from buildings on a sidewalk past a cordon line in Wellington early on November 14, 2016. (AFP)
First indications have emerged of possible casualties in the powerful 7.8 earthquake which struck New Zealand early Monday, but officials said the full extent was not immediately known.
Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee told a media briefing he had received reports of casualties near the South Island coastal town of Kaikoura but details were unclear.
Local media reported emergency services were searching for a missing person in a collapsed homestead. A second person who had been thought missing in the building was found alive.
The roads to Kaikoura were cut and telephone services in the area were down, but ambulance services said they were trying to get their command unit to the town from Christchurch because of injury reports.
The earthquake struck at 12:02am Monday (1102 GMT Sunday), the US Geological Survey said, putting the epicentre about 90 kilometres (57 miles) north of Christchurch, which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor which killed 185 people.
Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee told a media briefing he had received reports of casualties near the South Island coastal town of Kaikoura but details were unclear.
Local media reported emergency services were searching for a missing person in a collapsed homestead. A second person who had been thought missing in the building was found alive.
The roads to Kaikoura were cut and telephone services in the area were down, but ambulance services said they were trying to get their command unit to the town from Christchurch because of injury reports.
The earthquake struck at 12:02am Monday (1102 GMT Sunday), the US Geological Survey said, putting the epicentre about 90 kilometres (57 miles) north of Christchurch, which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor which killed 185 people.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
