The Department of Foreign Affairs had ‘grave concerns’ this evening for an Irish person believed to be trapped in Christchurch’s PGG building.

No survivors have been pulled from the rubble since yesterday afternoon.

The death toll from Tuesday’s 6.3 magnitude earthquake rose to 98 today and the missing are now numbered at 228. Two babies  — a five-month-old and a nine-month-old — are among the dead.

The number of Irish citizens unaccounted for is believed to have decreased to the low twenties. Officials working with Irish families stressed that there are issues with mobile telephone networks in New Zealand since the tremor tore apart buildings in Christchurch on the south island on Tuesday.

One of the dead, Eoin McKenna from Co Monaghan, was living in the country for about six years.

Believed to be aged in his forties, he worked as a psychiatric nurse and was a well-known figure in his local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). He moved abroad after marrying a woman from New Zealand.

Former school friends said the father-of-two had trained and worked in London and also spent some time in Saudi Arabia, where he met his wife.

Fabian Murphy, an old school friend from St McCartan’s College in Monaghan, last met Mr McKenna when he returned home for a short visit in July 2009.

“He was as funny as ever. I have known him since we were four-years-old,” Mr Murphy said.

“He was one of the funniest people ever, even in 2009, the night’s craic we had was just like old times.

“We’ll really miss him.”

It is understood the hospital where Mr McKenna worked contacted the family in the Emyvale area of Monaghan to say he had not arrived for work after the powerful 6.3-magnitude quake struck.

Mr McKenna’s car was crushed by falling debris.

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it believed a second man killed in the quake was married to an Irish woman and held a British passport.

As rescue workers continued to comb through the rubble, 76 bodies are being held at a temporary morgue at the central police station.

There are fears that more than 200 could still be buried – 120 people have been rescued so far.

Keith Lynch, a Galway journalist working with the Press Newspaper in Christchurch, told the Echo that Tuesday’s earthquake was more powerful than that which struck in September 2010.

“I was walking down a street called Gloucester St in the city centre, very close to Cathedral Square. I just felt a jolt … and you kind of get used to these things in Christchurch, so I just thought it would be over in a few seconds. But it got more and more violent — it was incredibly, incredibly violent,” said Lynch.

“So I realised this was really bad and that people were going to die and buildings would fall so I ran to middle of the road and just tried to make sure that if something fell it wouldn’t hit me.

“After it stopped I just ran around the corner to where my colleagues worked, in the Press Building, and saw the part of the building come down and I thought the worst. But luckily they had all managed to scramble downstairs when I found them.

“Almost immediately afterwards there was a huge aftershock and again I saw parts of the Press Building come down and the Cathedral come down as well. We knew it was so much different from September … we just knew people had died,” said Lynch.

The suburbs outside of Christchurch have also suffered heavy damage, particularly from liquefaction — weakness in soil caused by heavy duress.

“The damage in the suburbs is so much worse than it was in September. Out towards New Brigthon and St Alban the liquefaction is just incredible with a lot of cars buried in silt … there was people already shovelling away. There are streets that are impassable because of flooding.”

By Luke O’Neill / Billy Cantwell