Christchurch , New Zealand ( CNN ) -- The death toll from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that demolished parts of Christchurch , New Zealand , last week has climbed to 147 , authorities said Sunday . The figure is expected to rise , the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management said . Seventy people have been rescued alive from the quake that struck Tuesday , the agency said . Police in the battered town said Friday that more than 200 people still missing . Many of the missing were feared dead . Included in that were all the people who were in the Canterbury TV building that toppled in the Tuesday earthquake . Police say they have `` grave fears '' for all who were in the building including 90 students and staff from the King 's Education language school -- headquartered on the third floor . Donna Tai Rakena 's husband Tetaki was an English teacher and was working there when the quake struck . After the shaking ceased , she said she called his cell phone and got no answer . She jumped on her bike and pedaled down to the fallen building to see if she could find her husband in the mess of mangled steel and rubble . Police broke the news to her : Her soul mate of 30 years , the man she affectionately called Wally , was believed to be dead . `` They said they 'd gone into recovery mode and there was no hope of anyone coming out alive , '' she said . She now clings to hope that crews will at least find her husband 's body . Rescue and recovery crews have been combing through damaged buildings since the quake struck three days ago -- toppling buildings , buckling streets and ripping the facades of iconic churches , including the Christchurch Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament . A series of aftershocks followed . Southern New Zealand has been hit by a series of quakes since September 4 when a 7.1-magnitude temblor struck the area . There were no deaths from that quake , which struck deeper below ground and farther away from Christchurch . Tuesday 's earthquake was part of the `` aftershock sequence '' from the September earthquake , the U.S. Geological Survey said . CNN 's Anna Coren and Samira Said contributed to this report .
Police say they have ` ` grave sites '' for the missing . Operations continue in Christchurch . Authorities say more than 200 people are missing .