An Irish mountaineer who was trapped for a day and a half on a snow-capped peak survived by constructing an igloo to keep him and his fellow climber warm.

Geologists studying a fault line off New Zealand’s South Island said today it could cause more severe earthquakes than previously thought – in an area that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

A huge earthquake rocked southern New Zealand early today, authorities said. It rattled houses and hotels but caused no injuries or major damage in the mountainous and sparsely populated region.