New Zealand Mourns Christchurch Earthquake Victims as Death Toll Continues to Rise

New Zealand remains in mourning for those who died in the catastrophic February 22 earthquake which laid low the South Island city of Christchurch.

The official death toll, as of the afternoon of February 24, local time, was 98 with a further 226 still reported as missing.

As search and recovery operations continue, the grim forecast was that the official death toll would continue to increase as more earthquake victims are found to have died.