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

RESCUERS in Vanuatu searched on Wednesday for people trapped under rubble a day after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific nation's capital Port Vila, killing 14 people including two Chinese nationals and damaging commercial buildings, embassies and a hospital.

More than 200 people have been injured, with rescue efforts focused on two buildings that collapsed, Vanuatu Police Commissioner Robson Iavro said in a video message.

Three people trapped in a collapsed building were communicating with rescuers, he said.

"We believe there are more stuck inside," Iavro said.

Footage posted on social media showed vehicles crushed under the debris, boulders strewn across a highway and landslides near Port Vila's international shipping terminal. National broadcaster VBTC showed people queuing for fuel and essentials.

Australian Michael Thompson, who runs a zip line adventure business in Vanuatu, said he had helped dig people out of the rubble overnight.

"Three people have been removed alive with one in a very serious condition ... incredible displays of bravery with people entering confined spaces to conduct rescues," Thompson said in a post on Facebook.

One woman who had been pulled from the rubble later died, Iavro said.

Power, water and communications remain disrupted, government and energy officials said. Triage tents have been set up outside Port Vila's hospital to manage the influx of patients.

Ten buildings in Port Vila's main town had major structural damage, the National Disaster Management Office said.

Basil Leodoro, an emergency doctor in Vanuatu with health emergency firm Respond Global, said in a social media post that two buildings - Billabong House and a Chinese store - had collapsed, with rescuers trying to save people.

Two Chinese nationals had died in the earthquake, China's Ambassador to Vanuatu Li Minggang told state media on Wednesday.

Of the 14 confirmed deaths, six people had died in landslides, four in the collapsed Billabong building and four at Vila Central Hospital, the National Disaster Management office said in a report.

Concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital, including the U.S., British, French and New Zealand embassies, collapsed in the powerful quake.

AFTERSHOCKS OVERNIGHT

Several aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.1, rattled Vanuatu overnight.

"Even just two minutes ago, we had another shock ... probably wouldn't even count how many. Loads and loads of aftershocks throughout the night," Australian Caroline Bird, who manages a resort in Port Vila, told ABC News on Wednesday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Charlot Salwai said a national disaster committee has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew for seven days in the worst-affected areas. International assistance has been sought.

The United States Agency for International Development said it was sending a team to Vanuatu, where it keeps relief supplies pre-positioned in Port Vila.

Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said two military planes would fly to Vanuatu on Wednesday morning with a medical assistance team, and a search and rescue team.

"This is a very significant incident and we hold anxiety about how it will unfold," he told ABC Radio.

France's ambassador to Vanuatu, Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, said a French military helicopter had arrived from New Caledonia with satellite communications and military engineers

Port Vila's international airport would be closed to commercial airlines for 72 hours, to allow medical and emergency aircraft to land, Airports Vanuatu CEO Jason Rakau told VBTC.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated 116,000 people, around one-third of the country's population, had been affected by the earthquake.

The tropical island nation, located on the seismically active 'Pacific Ring of Fire', is ranked among the world's most at-risk countries for natural disasters and extreme weather events.