New Zealand rescuers say they are continuing to search for survivors in the aftermath of Tuesday's powerful earthquake in Christchurch.
Superintendent Dave Cliff said it remained a rescue operation, and that specialists were working at a number of sites where there were signs of life.
At least 76 people have been killed, but 238 others are missing - up to 120 of them under one collapsed building.
Prime Minister John Key has said people should prepare for more bad news.
Officials say there might be fatalities from a number of countries.
'Unsurvivable'
The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 5km (3.1 miles) early in the afternoon on Tuesday, when the South Island city was at its busiest.
It was Christchurch's second major tremor in five months, and New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster for 80 years.
Hundreds of foreign specialist rescuers arrived in the city on Thursday to help local police and soldiers searching through the dangerously unstable ruins for any survivors.
The BBC's Phil Mercer in Christchurch says there is an unshakeable determination among everyone there to keep looking.
But it is a meticulous and painstakingly slow operation, as rescue workers use sniffer dogs, sound detectors, thermal imaging equipment and cameras to detect any signs of life, adds our correspondent.
Supt Cliff, the police district commander, said he continued to hold out hope, but dismissed reports that any survivors had been located on Thursday morning, dismissing the information was speculation.
The last survivor was pulled out on Wednesday afternoon, but rescuers say there are pockets within a number of collapsed buildings from where people could be rescued, provided they have not been crushed.
Supt Cliff said there might be between 60 and 120 bodies trapped beneath the collapsed Canterbury Television building, which has been deemed "unsurvivable". It contained the offices of a local TV station and a language school.
"Miracles happen and we're keeping that in the forefront of our minds. That sort of things drives you and pushes you on," rescue official Keith Norton told the Reuters news agency.
Search and rescue personnel returned to the CTV site on Wednesday evening, after withdrawing out earlier in the day because of the risk of collapse of the nearby Hotel Grand Chancellor, Christchurch's second tallest building.
"It's incredibly dangerous... If it hits the ground it will create a significant shock wave," said Christchurch's mayor, Bob Parker.
Another 16 to 22 people are presumed to have died in the Christchurch Cathedral, which lost its spire and a section of roof, he said.
Rescue teams have meanwhile suspended their search of the Pyne Gould Guinness building - the location of the last rescue - because the continuing aftershocks are making the structure increasingly unstable.
Police have said there may be 20 people unaccounted for inside.
Supt Cliff said a growing number of bodies were being sent to the temporary morgue set up by the emergency services at a nearby army base.
The names of the deceased would start to be released soon, along with the missing people thought to have been caught up in the disaster, he added. But he stressed that this did not mean they had been killed.
Medical officials said 164 seriously injured people had been admitted to hospital with a range of conditions from crush and spinal injuries to broken bones. The total number of injured is about 2,500.
'Utter devastation'
Earlier, Police Minister Judith Collins said the confirmed death toll from the earthquake had risen to 76, but that the number would rise.
Ms Collins described the Pyne Gould Guinness building as a "scene of utter devastation", and praised the bravery of rescue workers trying to bring people out of the rubble there and at other sites.
Prime Minister John Key meanwhile said he had not given up hope, but that the authorities had to be realistic.
"With the enormous number of people that will now be able to fan out across buildings right across the city and the suburbs, we will have a much more accurate number of that as the next 24 hours to 48 hours unfold."
He also said the impact on the local economy would be substantial, as there has been no indication of when the central business district will re-open.
"Christchurch's economic activity will be much less for a while," he said. "The government will be doing everything it can to economically get Christchurch back on its feet."
A JP Morgan analyst has estimated the insurance losses at $12bn.
Christchurch's airport reopened on Wednesday, and military planes were brought in to fly tourists to other cities.
Many residents meanwhile spent another grim night camped in evacuation centres. Those still with homes have been told to avoid showering or flushing toilets because the sewerage system is damaged.
Water tankers have been sent to 14 locations throughout the city to allow people to fill buckets and bottles, and portable toilets set up. The electricity supply has been restored to 60% of the city.
New Zealand experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which only around 20 have a magnitude greater than 5.0.
Tuesday's was the country's worst natural disaster since a 1931 quake in Hawke's Bay on the North Island killed 256 people.
source : bbc.co.uk
