(CNN) -- A woman was pulled from earthquake ruins in one of New Zealand's largest cities Wednesday, bringing a rare ray of hope as rescuers frantically searched for survivors.
Ann Bodkin took cover under her desk when the 6.3-magnitude quake struck Christchurch on Tuesday, killing at least 75 people. She had been trapped in her office building for 24 hours.
"The sun came out the moment she was removed from the building," said Mayor Bob Parker of Christchurch. "It was like God turned on the lights."
Elsewhere in the city, there was heartbreak for relatives of the missing as authorities called off a search at the Canterbury Television building, after concluding no-one could have survived the damage there.
Rescue workers applauded as Bodkin was pulled alive from the rubble of the Pyne Gould Corp. building in the central business district.
She was one of around 30 people rescued Wednesday from buildings on the two blocks most severely damaged in the quake.
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Local media reported that Ann Voss, who spoke to the media from her mobile phone beneath the rubble, has also been rescued.
"A couple of hours ago, I thought I'd had it," Voss told New Zealand network TV3 Tuesday. "I thought it was 'goodbye Ann'."
"I've managed to wiggle out a bit because I couldn't breathe. Now I've got a wee bit of air here. I rang my kids to say goodbye."
My daughter was crying and I was crying because I thought 'this is it'. You've got to tell them you love them."
She said she was unaware of what was happening and that she was waiting to be rescued.
"I'm not going to give up -- I've got here now you get me out," she said.
At least 22 people were still trapped in Pyne Gould building, Superintendent Russell Gibson said in a statement Wednesday.
Rescue workers have abandoned a bid to recover victims from the CTV building, saying the damage to the structure was "not survivable."
Authorities believe up to 100 people, including language school students and TV station staff were inside the building when the quake hit.
It was unclear how many others were trapped or rescued from other properties toppled in the quake.
Hundreds are still missing, Prime Minister John Key said. Among them are 10 Japanese students and teachers believed to be trapped at a local college. The group, which was visiting the city, was eating lunch when the earthquake struck.
The quake toppled buildings onto buses, buckled streets and ripped the facades of iconic churches, including the Christchurch Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
It also cut power for most of the city, leaving rescuers working overnight under floodlights.
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"This is just heartbreaking," Key said. "This may be New Zealand's darkest day."
As the rescuers scrambled to reach survivors, the web turned into a crisis center as Google offered a service for people searching for loved ones.
Google's crisis response service provided a place to find information, including telephone numbers and incident reports.
The initial quake, which struck in the early afternoon, was followed by a series of aftershocks, the New Zealand Ministry of Defense said.
A U.S. emergency official was in Christchurch as part of a delegation working with the New Zealand government on disaster response.
"I was at the airport when the earthquake struck," said Tim Manning, deputy administrator for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Manning said he is working with the U.S. Embassy to find citizens who need assistance and providing help to New Zealand officials.
Southern New Zealand has been hit by a series of quakes since September 4, when a 7.1-magnitude temblor struck the area. The earthquake hit in the predawn hours, with the deserted streets helping keep injuries to a minimum. There were no deaths from that quake.
The September quake struck deeper below ground and further away from Christchurch than Tuesday's temblor, and thus caused less damage despite the higher magnitude, officials said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday's earthquake was part of the "aftershock sequence" of the September earthquake.
"It's a nightmare. A lot of people were just getting back on their feet after the original quake," said Kevin Fenaughty, data center manager for GNS Science, an earth-science research institute.
Source :http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/02/23/new.zealand.earthquake/index.html
