Vanuatu earthquake death toll rises to 14 as rescuers search for survivors

The Star

Rescuers in Vanuatu searched on Wednesday (Dec 18) for people trapped under rubble a day after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific nation's capital Port Vila, killing 14 people and damaging commercial buildings, embassies and a hospital.   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3darhbwd  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Rescue teams in Vanuatu worked tirelessly on Wednesday to locate survivors trapped under

00:09collapsed buildings after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific Nation, claiming

00:15at least 14 lives.

00:25Many victims were buried in rubble and landslides.

00:28Vanuatu Police Commissioner Robson Yavro reported that over 200 people were injured

00:34with rescue operations concentrated on two collapsed buildings.

00:38He added that three individuals trapped in one of the structures were in contact with

00:42authorities who believe more people remain trapped inside.

00:46The National Disaster Management Office revealed that 10 buildings in Port Vila, the nation's

00:52capital, sustained major structural damage.

00:55Caretaker Prime Minister Charlotte Salwai announced a state of emergency and imposed

01:00a seven-day curfew in the hardest-hit areas.

01:04The earthquake struck off the main island at 12.47pm local time on Tuesday, flattening

01:10large buildings, cracking walls, shattering windows and triggering landslides across the

01:15low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people situated in the quake-prone Pacific Ring of Fire.

01:23Australia and New Zealand have pledged urgent assistance.

01:27Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles stated that two military planes carrying a

01:31medical assistance team and a search and rescue team would arrive in Vanuatu on Wednesday

01:36morning.

01:37An update from Vanuatu's Disaster Management Office, obtained by AFP, detailed the fatalities

01:44– four at Port Vila's hospital, six in a landslide and four in a collapsed shop.

01:51Two of the victims were Chinese nationals, according to China's ambassador to Vanuatu.

01:57The earthquake caused widespread disruption to power, water and communication networks.

02:03Triage tents have been set up outside Port Vila's hospital to handle the influx of patients,

02:09while Port Vila's international airport has been closed to commercial flights for 72 hours

02:14to accommodate medical and emergency aircraft, according to airport's Vanuatu CEO Jason Rakau.

02:21A series of aftershocks, including one measuring 6.1, shook the country overnight.

02:27The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that approximately 116,000

02:33people, about one-third of Vanuatu's population, have been affected by the disaster.

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