Earthquake: Still they search

The rain fell, the dust turned to mud, and still they worked on. 

Yesterday was day four of the recovery effort after Christchurch's devastation in Tuesday's earthquake, and nobody has been found alive since Wednesday.

The searchers were dirty and tired - but after hours of back-breaking and heart-breaking work, still they refused to give up.

For 32 hours straight after Tuesday's 12.51pm quake, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) live-scent dog handlers Ben Moore and Brenda Woolley, both of Christchurch, scrambled over, through and under the teetering rubble, putting their lives on the line in the search for the smallest signs of life among the wreckage.

And, like the hundreds of other rescuers, they see themselves as simply doing a job that has to be done.

"You just cope. You can't let yourself think about it. You just keep going," Mr Moore said.

Physical exhaustion has forced most to work in 12-hour shifts, but the intention is clear - to work day and night until all hope is extinguished.

Many quake victims have been rescued because of the efforts of search and rescue teams, but as the days wear on the moments of joy are fewer.

And, as the rescue work turns to recovering bodies, there is still much hard work to be done.

It could be months before all the victims of the Christchurch earthquake are formally identified, a Dunedin police officer involved in the victim-identification process says.

Issues around safety at collapse sites; the types of injuries rendering visual identification difficult or, in many cases, impossible; and legal requirements to meet identification standards set by the coroner all added to the time it would take to identify bodies, Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said.

He is the disaster victim identification (DVI) scene commander in Christchurch. His responsibility is to organise the first phase of the DVI process by co-ordinating the 130 DVI officers from New Zealand and Australia to work with search and rescue teams at the various sites where bodies are expected to be found.

The number of bodies in the temporary morgue has risen to 113. More than 200 people are missing, but police say a large number of the dead will be on their missing list.

Two more names of people confirmed as victims of the quake were released today, adding to the four names released yesterday.

They are Jeff Pelesa Sanft (32) and Andrew Christian Ross Craig (46), both of Christchurch.

A death notice is also included in today's Otago Daily Times for another earthquake victim.

Snr Sgt Benn said that because of the condition of the bodies, it was important police got the identities of people correct.

That was being done by a rigorous process of reconciling the personal details of the missing with DNA, dental records and fingerprints.

"It is like finding 150 fingers in the Octagon and matching them to 150 missing people. It is time consuming and will take some months," Snr Sgt Benn said.

Police yesterday said they recognised it was an agonising wait for those desperate to find out about their loved ones, but appealed for understanding from families.

Police DVI commander Inspector Mike Wright said police were required to follow the international process of DVI, which did not rely solely on visual identification, as in stressful situations distraught relatives could often mistakenly identify loved ones.

All 130-plus staff were working quickly but methodically identifying remains, he said.