NO one knows how many people are trapped in the rubble left by a powerful earthquake that struck one of New Zealand’s largest cities, but rescuers know they are there.

The earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand and killed at least 65 people, also caused some 30 million tons of ice to break off from New Zealand's biggest glacier.

An Irish man is among nine people who died when a light aircraft belonging to a skydiving company crashed and burst into flames near a popular tourist spot in New Zealand’s Southern Alps today.

A VIOLENT storm with fierce rain and hurricane- force winds battered France, Spain and Portugal yesterday, leaving at least 45 people dead.

One person was killed and another seriously injured when an avalanche swept away five skiers in New Zealand today, police said.

EVEN for non-sports enthusiasts, there can be no doubt they know how much the All Blacks rugby brand has done for New Zealand tourism over the years.

An American man on a deer-hunting expedition died after he fell almost 1,000 feet down a rocky slope on New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

Graham Henry admits he made mistakes as Lions coach four years ago. Now he’s determined to use that experience to defeat his erstwhile colleagues. Simon Lewis spoke to him in Christchurch ahead of today’s first Test.

Mourners gathered today for the funeral of a Belfast doctor who died saving his girlfriend’s life in a mountain climbing accident.

The body of a Northern Ireland doctor killed in a climbing accident in New Zealand is expected to arrive in Belfast later today.

The mother of a Belfast doctor killed on a mountain in New Zealand today spoke of her relief that a search-and-rescue team had recovered his body.

A NORTHERN Ireland man who plunged to his death while climbing a mountain in New Zealand had told his family how lucky he was to have escaped the Asian tsunami, it emerged last night.

A Northern Ireland man who plunged to his death while climbing a mountain in New Zealand had told his family how lucky he was to have escaped the Asian tsunami, it emerged tonight.

The Irishman who died in a mountain-climbing accident in New Zealand yesterday morning has been named as 29-year-old Dr Donal Deery from Belfast.

Cormac O’Keeffe

An Irish climber who plunged to his eath while descending a steep slope in New Zealand’s Southern Alps was named this evening.

An Irish climber plunged to his death while descending a steep slope in New Zealand’s Southern Alps today.