New Zealand rescuers say they are continuing to search for survivors¹ in the aftermath of Tuesday's powerful earthquake in Christchurch.

新西兰的救援人员称，他们将在克赖斯特彻奇市继续寻找地震生还者。该市在周二曾发生强烈地震。

Foreign specialist rescue crews arrived in the city centre on Thursday
Superintendent² Dave Cliff said it remained a rescue operation, and that specialists were working at sites where there had been signs of life.

At least 92 people have been killed, but 238 others are missing - up to 120 of them under one collapsed³ building.

Prime Minister John Key has said the death toll⁴ could rise substantially.

"The indications we're getting from the police... is that the loss of life could be more substantial than anyone of us had ever dreamed of," he told Sky News on Wednesday afternoon.

"They've been in touch with a couple of hundred families who have clearly indicated that they have a loved one missing, and police have every reason to believe those people may be fatalities⁵（灾祸，命运） ," he added.

'Unsurvivable'

The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 5km (3.1 miles) early in the afternoon on Tuesday, when the South Island city was at its busiest.

It was Christchurch's second major tremor⁶ in five months, and New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster for 80 years.

Hundreds of foreign specialist rescuers arrived in the city on Thursday to help local police and soldiers searching through the dangerously unstable⁷ ruins for any survivors.

The BBC's Phil Mercer in Christchurch says there is an unshakeable determination among everyone there to keep looking.