Hopes have faded of finding more survivors in New Zealand's earthquake-shattered Christchurch, as the death toll rose to 98 with fears for more than 200 missing.
Police said up to 120 bodies may still lie trapped in the tangled concrete and steel that was the Canterbury Television or CTV building.
Dozens of students from Japan and other Asian countries are believed to buried amid the rubble there after an English-language school collapsed along with other offices.
The official death toll from Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude temblor stands at 98, Police Superintendent Dave Cliff said.
An additional 226 people were listed as missing, and prime minister John Key said there were "grave fears" that many of them did not survive.
"We are very fearful that the death toll could be much greater than any of us have ever feared," he said, adding that there were dozens of international people caught up in the tragedy.
Rescue efforts have so far focused on the Canterbury TV building and a handful of other major office complexes that crumbled downtown.
But work at those sites was shifting to the recovery of bodies while the remaining rescue efforts fanned out further from the centre of town.
The British Consulate office is now also up and running in the Copthorne Commodore Hotel, providing advice for British nationals in the country.
Prince William has also sent his condolences.
Key has declared the quake a national disaster, and analysts estimate its cost at up to $12 billion.
The British Consulate office is now also up and running in the Copthorne Commodore Hotel, providing advice for British nationals in the country.
Prince William has also sent his condolences.