UPDATE: People from about 20 countries among New Zealand earthquake dead

The death toll from the Christchurch Earthquake in New Zealand is now 147 and local police say this figure is still expected to rise.

The list of people who are unaccounted for, and where there is significant concern that they are in the CBD, is around 50.

It is likely that a large number of those who have died will be on that list but that cross-matching can only be carried out once there have been formal identifications.

The New Zealand government has warned that foreigners from some 20 countries could be among the dead, including many from Asian nations.

An American Urban Search and Rescue Team has now arrived in New Zealand to join teams from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and China.

A team from the UK is also en route and once they arrive there will be nearly 700 USAR teams and civil defence volunteers working on the rescue operation.