NZ mourns quake dead with 2 minutes of silence

Rescue crews switched off their jackhammers and joined in two minutes of silence observed across New Zealand on Tuesday to mourn as many as 240 people killed in an earthquake exactly one week earlier.

Church bells tolled throughout the country at 12:51 pm to mark the start of a national commemoration for those lost when the quake struck the southern city of Christchurch, collapsing office blocks and sending bricks and other rubble tumbling into the streets. (AP)