The death toll from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch earlier this week rose Thursday, with at least 98 confirmed deaths and 226 reported missing, police said.Officials said they had given up hope of rescuing at least 100 people who were trapped in the Canterbury TV building in downtown Christchurch. Police said they were "100% certain" no one in the building was still alive.
Authorities fear that trapped occupants in another building, the Pyne Gould Corporation Building, are also dead.
Of those missing were 27 Japanese students, Japan's foreign ministry said. Most of them were students at language schools, and five were on personal study trips.