Two Irish citizens among New Zealand dead

Two Irish citizens were today confirmed to have died in the New Zealand earthquake, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said.

One is an Irishman living in New Zealand for the past six years, the other is a British-born man who's married to an Irish woman, but holds an Irish passport.

Their families have been notified, and an update on the status of other Irish nationals is expected from the Department of Foreign Affairs this morning.

The department confirmed that about 200 Irish citizens are believed to have been in the Christchurch area when the powerful 6.3-magnitude tremor struck.

The department said it has general concerns about eight other Irish people as they have not been able to make contact with them.

But Mr Walshe told RTÉ that he believed they would be accounted for.

While an estimated 1,000 Irish citizens are living in the region, as well as a large community of second and third-generation Irish, queries to the department’s crisis helpline and registration show some 200 are in the city area.

Officials in New Zealand have warned it could be some time before full details of the casualties, including nationalities, will be known due to the extent of the damage in the city.