https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/12/17/viol ... rted-dead/New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been in contact with the country's High Commissioner Nicci Simmonds in Vanuatu.
"Our High Commission building, which is co-located with the United States, the French and the United Kingdom, has sustained significant damage.
"We are in the process of contacting our staff to check they are safe."
There were 45 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu. The ministry said it expected there would be more who were not registered.
"New Zealanders there should follow the advice of authorities and be prepared for aftershocks."
Six aftershocks were recorded by the United States Geological Survey, measuring between 4.7 and 5.5 in the three hours after the initial quake.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of communication outages in Vanutatu, and anyone in need of consular assistance should contact the emergency consular line on +64 99 20 20 20 as soon as they were able.
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In a video posted to Facebook, Michael Thompson gave an account of the aftermath in Port Vila.
He said "there's multiple buildings that have come down around town".
"The American Embassy is collapsed... just pancaked. It's gone."
More reports:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-18/ ... /104738368
Sobering to look at the photos of the La Casa D'Andrea E Luciano building in Port Vila and realise there's another floor under it...