More than 200 people are still unaccounted for in the New Zealand city of Christchurch after Tuesday's earthquake.
113 bodies have been recovered so far.
The badly damaged centre of the city has been cordoned off by the authorities but media personnel are still being allowed access.
Although officials are not optimistic, rescue teams have not given up hope that there may still be some survivors trapped beneath the rubble.
Irish Ambassador to Australia Máirtín Ó Fainín has arrived in Christchurch and is supervising the setting up of a presence on the ground to assist affected families.
Ambassador Ó Fainín told RTÉ News that officials would also be making contact with the significant Irish community in Christchurch.
The arrival of teams from Britain and the United States, which joined rescuers from Japan, Taiwan and Australia, allowed the difficult search to push into beachside areas hardest hit by Tuesday's 6.3 tremor.
Fears of a disease outbreak from contaminated water and broken sewage services forced the closure of an emergency centre and relocation of more than 100 people to another centre outside the city of 400,000, where a night curfew remains in place.
Police said 228 people were listed as missing. The list could include many people whose bodies have been found but yet to be identified. More than 2,500 were injured in the quake, and more than 160 of them seriously.
An estimated 70 people have been rescued alive, but the last survivor was pulled out on Wednesday afternoon.
