People remain trapped under a collapsed building in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila today, a day after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific nation, killing 14 people, including two Chinese nationals.

Three people trapped under the rubble of one building have been contacted by rescuers, while two survivors have been pulled from the wreckage of another, Police Chief Robson Yavreau said.

“We believe there are others trapped inside“, said Iavros in a video message.

As aftershocks continue to hit the island nation of 330,000 people, images on social media show vehicles crushed under rubble, massive rocks on the roadway of a highway and landslides near the port of Port Vila.

National television network VBTC broadcast images of people queuing for fuel and other essentials as electricity, water and communications have been cut.

There are 14 confirmed dead, four of them in a collapsed building, according to a statement from the National Disaster Management Office.

More than 200 people have been injured, police said. Tents are set up outside the Port Vila hospital to serve patients arriving there.

The head of UNICEF’s office in Vanuatu, Eric Dipper, said water contamination is a major concern.

“We have already seen this morning an increase in children with diarrhoea, which means they have started drinking contaminated water because the supply has been cut off,” he told Reuters in an interview.

China’s ambassador confirmed that two Chinese citizens were among the dead.

Aftershocks, one of which measured 6.1, struck Vanuatu overnight.

“Even two minutes ago, we had another aftershock … we can’t even count them. Too many aftershocks overnight,” Australian Caroline Bird, who runs a resort in Port Vila, told ABC News today.

Acting Prime Minister Charlo Saloui said a state of emergency and a seven-day curfew had been declared in the worst-hit areas, while international aid was sought.

GA