New Zealand : Earthquake - Death toll rises to 75

Via BBC News, fatalities rises, excerpt :

" New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has declared a national state of emergency as the death toll from Tuesday's earthquake in Christchurch rose to 75.

There are now 55 bodies in a morgue and another 20 being transported there following the 6.3-magnitude tremor.

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 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.

Amputations

More than 500 search and rescue personnel, police, fire service staff, soldiers and volunteers worked throughout the night to find survivors trapped under the rubble, many using only their bare hands."