Two Irish passport holders have been confirmed dead in the New Zealand earthquake.
One is an Irishman living in New Zealand for the past six years, originally belived to be from Monaghan, the other is a New Zealand-born man who’s married to an Irish woman, but holds an Irish passport.
Their families have been notified, and an update on the status of other Irish nationals is expected from the Department of Foreign Affairs in the next half hour.
Meanwhile, rescuers from around the world are descending on the country’s second city Christchurch to help with the rescue effort.
Hundreds are buried under rubble – with one woman’ pulled from beneath one of the worst-hit buildings – 24 hours on.
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