PORT VILA - Rescuers say they have expanded a search for trapped survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the capital, as the reported death toll climbs to 10.
The 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the main island on Tuesday, toppling concrete buildings in Port Vila and setting off landslides.
It has damaged water supplies, knocked out mobile networks, halted operations at the capital's main shipping port, and led to a suspension of commercial flights.
Ten people have been confirmed killed so far, according to government figures relayed Thursday by the United Nations' humanitarian affairs office.
Two of the dead were Chinese and one French, their embassies have confirmed.
About 80,000 people have been directly affected by the earthquake in the archipelago of 320,000, which sits in the Pacific's quake-prone Ring of Fire, the UN said.
More than 14,000 of them are children.
Australia and New Zealand have dispatched more than 100 personnel, along with rescue gear, dogs and aid supplies, to help hunt for survivors and make emergency repairs.
There are "several major collapse sites where buildings are fully pancaked", Australia's 69-strong rescue team leader Douglas May said in a video update provided by Canberra on Friday.