New Zealand earthquake - in pictures

Debris litters central Christchurch after it was struck by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake Photograph: Mark Mitchell/AP

People break windows to prepare to be rescued from a high-rise building Photograph: AP

People walk through debris in the aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch Photograph: Logan Mcmillan/AFP/Getty Images

A man is seen after being pulled from the rubble. Search and rescue teams are working through the night to find survivors Photograph: Iain McGregor/Reuters

Two women console each other in front of a collapsed building Photograph: /Reuters

Rescue workers work to extinguish a fire at a collapsed building in central Christchurch Photograph: Mark Mitchell/AP

A man holds a child in his arms after the earthquake struck Christchurch Photograph: Iain Mcgregor/Reuters

A man runs for cover. The mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker, has declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city centre Photograph: Martin Hunter/Getty Images

Cars teeter on the top floor of a damaged car park. Many cars were buried under the rubble after the quake struck Photograph: Martin Hunter/Getty Images

An injured woman is carried from the rubble of a collapsed multi-level office block on Madras Street in Christchurch Photograph: David Wethey/EPA

Cars are crushed by fallen concrete after the earthquake in Christchurch Photograph: Simon Baker/Reuters

Rescue workers climb on to the collapsed Pyne Gould Guinness building Photograph: Mark Mitchell/AP

Rescue workers search for survivors in a collapsed building in Madras Street after the earthquake in Christchurch Photograph: Christchurch Press/Reuters