Rescuers fear for 200 missing in Christchurch quake

Rescue workers in New Zealand have said they still have grave fears for more than 200 people caught up in the Christchurch earthquake.

It is feared an Irishman is among those trapped under one of the collapsed buildings in the city.

The confirmed death toll has now reached 98.

Pat Hughes from Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, said his son Martin was in Christchurch on a short holiday and had to be hospitalised after the quake, but is now back in Wellington.

On the day of the quake, he managed to escape from an office block which collapsed, and he is staying in a tent nearby.