The death toll from the massive Christchurch earthquake on Tuesday is now 146, with a police officer among the dead, Canterbury police commander says Dave Cliff says.
`The toll had increased by only one from yesterday, and Superintendent Cliff said the level of damage suffered by victims of the quake was slowing identification.
He hoped to release names of another victim today -- only six names have been officially released so far.
Police were close to releasing others while more than 200 people were still missing, he said.
Mr Cliff wore a huia feather to the press conference, to mark the police officer being confirmed as among the dead.
Other police were also wearing huia feathers as a mark of respect, he said.
Mr Cliff said a large number of overseas people were on the missing list, but it was suspected not all of them were missing, but they had not told their families they were alive.
He asked that tourists contact their families or the Red Cross help ine and assure them they were alive.
Mr Cliff said police cordons in the central city were being replaced by fencing, to free officers to work in the suburbs, which had been hit by post quake crime.
Thieves had been stealing from ruined homes abandoned by earthquake victims.
There had been several arrests overnight, Mr Cliff said.
At the ChristChurch Cathedral where a numbreof bodies Are bdelieved to be trapped, removing debris continued overnight.
Australian police were involved in the arrests, with one of those they caught describing them as ``scary''. Australian police have been sworn in and have full powers.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams have inserted large steel tubes into some parts of the cathedral and are crawling through these tubes, pushing small hand-guided diggers in front of them to burrow in to search for bodies.
They are creating safe havens for themselves as they work outwards from these for further searching.
Outside the cathedral, steelwork is being used to stabilise the front section where the New Zealand USAR team is working.
There have been no signs of life.
At the Canterbury TV and Pyne Gould buildings debris is being removed piece by piece, slowly and carefully, and will take considerable time, a USAR spokeswoman said.
Hotel Grand Chancellor has been safety-assessed and USAR teams this morning began searching surrounding buildings.
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