Funeral for earthquake victim baby

The first funeral for a victim of New Zealand’s devastating earthquake has been held in Christchurch – for a five-month-old boy.

According to his family, Baxtor Gowland was struck by falling masonry as he slept at home when the magnitude-6.3 quake struck last Tuesday.

Dozens of family and friends of the boy embraced outside a small chapel in Christchurch, where he was laid to rest.

A slideshow of the smiling infant flashed on a screen as Sarah McLachlan’s song Angel was played.

Police said the death toll from the quake had reached 148 and was expected to rise further.

Around 200 people are listing as missing, though many are believed to be among bodies already collected but whose identities have not been established.

Earlier residents held open-air prayers for the dead and missing on the lawns of churches cracked and shattered in earthquake, while teams searched for more bodies in what could become the country’s deadliest disaster.

Officials said there are “grave fears” for the more than 200 still missing and prime minister John Key warned that the quake could be the country’s worst disaster, surpassing a 1931 shock that killed 256 people.

When the quake ripped through the city last Tuesday, the city’s churches were among the hardest-hit buildings.

Among them was Christchurch Cathedral, at the heart of the city, which suffered massive damage, its bell tower in ruins and 22 people potentially lying dead inside.