The family of a 40-year old Irishman living in New Zealand have confirmed that he was working in the PGG Building in Christchurch when it collapsed in Tuesday's earthquake.
There had earlier been conflicting reports from the Department of Foreign Affairs about the search for the Irishman in Christchurch.
The man is originally from Abbeydorney in Co Kerry. His mother still lives there and he has two brothers and two sisters.
He had moved to New Zealand from London with his wife and two-year old son last September and had started work as an accountant in the PGG Building before Christmas.
The man's wife is expecting their second child in May.
It is understood that there has been no contact with the man since the PGG Building collapsed.
Members of the missing man's family in Abbeydorney have told RTÉ News that they remain hopeful and that they are praying that he is safe.
They are in contact with the man's wife, who is at the PGG Building.
There are a total of 17 Irish people still unaccounted for.
Yesterday, it was confirmed that one Irishman had been killed. Owen McKenna from Co Monaghan was in his early 40s and married with two children.
Death toll 'certain to rise'
Rescuers toiled for a fourth day among the ruins of New Zealand's quake-ravaged city of Christchurch, as hopes of finding more survivors faded and the death toll reached 113 with more than 200 missing.
Teams from Japan and the US have sent in sniffer dogs and listening equipment to aid in the rescue operation.
But their efforts are being hindered by the prospect of new collapses of damaged buildings.
In a televised interview, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the death toll from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake was certain to rise.
'The indications we're getting from the police ... is that the loss of life could be more substantial than any one of us had ever dreamed of,' he told Sky News.
'They've been in touch with a couple of hundred families who have clearly indicated that they have a loved one missing and police have every reason to believe those people may be fatalities.'
More than 100 aftershocks have brought down more debris. Roads have buckled and large pools of water have welled up from broken pipes and sewers.
In places, roads have collapsed into a milky, sand-coloured lake beneath the surface, the result of Christchurch's sandy foundations mixing with subterranean water under the force of the quake.
More than half of the dead have come from the ruin of the former Canterbury Television (CTV) building, which housed an English language school for foreign students.
Fire rescue chief Jim Stuart Black said ‘We'll keep searching until such time as we have satisfied ourselves beyond all possible doubt that there is no-one left still to rescue in terms of an active find.’
