segunda-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2011

Christchurch quake: Dead are buried as weather worsens


The New Zealand city of Christchurch has begun to bury its dead following last week's devastating earthquake.
The first service was for the youngest victim so far - baby Baxtor Gowland, born just after last September's quake.
The death toll from 22 February is now 148 people; only eight bodies have been released for burial so far.
Rescue teams continue to search for survivors but aftershocks have hampered their efforts and a forecast windstorm could add to the hazards they face.
No survivors have been rescued since mid-afternoon on Wednesday.
The opening of new cracks in a cliff overlooking some outer suburbs and continuing aftershocks have kept residents nervous.
People are still trying to leave the city following the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that wrecked the centre of the city.
Young Baxter Gowland was one of two infants named as casualties in the quake. He was killed by flying masonry as he slept at home.
His family and friends gathered at a chapel for a service at which a slideshow of his short life was shown.
It was the first of several services to come; on Tuesday two minutes' silence will be held to commemorate the victims, a week after the earthquake struck. BBC News