RESCUE TEAMS working at the site of a destroyed Christchurch building where an Irishman may be trapped are still holding out hope of finding survivors.
In the early hours of this morning (local time), the UK International Search and Rescue team, made up of some 55 members drawn from the emergency services, was working at the site of the Pyne Gould Corporation Building in the heart of the city.
Earlier this week, the family of missing Irishman John Joe O’Connor (40), an accountant from Abbeydorney, Co Kerry, confirmed he was working in the building. The Department of Foreign Affairs said there was one case of “serious concern” of an Irish citizen.
“There is still continued hope for survivors. It’s a search and rescue operation,” a civil defence spokesman said.
Upon his arrival in New Zealand, British team leader Peter Crook also remained hopeful. “It’s still a rescue operation, we’ve pulled people out five to six days later [after previous earthquakes],” he told Fairfax Media.
A member of the American search and rescue group also remained positive. “Survivors can stay alive quite a time in a collapsed building,” said Capt Bryan Wells, from the Los Angeles fire department, whose team arrived in Christchurch on Friday morning. “In Haiti, when we responded to that earthquake, we were able to find victims five, six, seven days after the earthquake.”
The Pyne Gould Building, which lies in ruins, was being dismantled layer by layer with rescue teams sifting through the rubble in the hope of finding someone alive.
“Earthquakes overseas have shown that some people have survived after several days of being trapped in fallen buildings, however, as the days pass the chances of surviving diminish. It is not known how many deceased are in the buildings and what nationality they are,” a police spokeswoman said.
Early this morning, a civil defence spokesman said one body has been pulled from the site over the last 24 hours.
Earthquake minister Gerry Brownlee also said one-quarter of Christchurch’s central business district could be written off, leaving the central city off-limits for months.
Meanwhile, Irishwoman Angela Mullin (28) from Dundalk narrowly escaped falling masonry in an alleyway next to the offices of the Press building when the quake hit. She was just about to walk into the alley adjacent to the local paper’s offices when rubble and bricks rained down from above.
“I just stood in the doorway with my hands on my head. There was a cloud of dust. When it stopped I was able to get to Cathedral Square. Even if I’d walked another two feet all that debris would have fallen on me.”
The official death toll remains at 113 with about 200 people still missing.