A Chinese student has been found alive in the rubble of a building destroyed in Tuesday's earthquake in Christchurch - after New Zealand's prime minister and rescue officials said there was no hope of finding survivors.

Earlier, officials in New Zealand said eight Chinese students remained buried in the ruins of the Canterbury Television building, reported China Central Television.

The whereabouts of 13 other Chinese students there were unknown. The remaining 11 Chinese students of the 32 registered at an English language school housed in the building are safe.

Rescue workers had said there was little chances that the students buried in the earthquake were still alive.

Earlier, Prime Minister John Key had also said there were no survivors in the CTV building.

A list released by a local Chinese-language newspaper New Zealand Chinese Herald claimed to name those buried but New Zealand rescue officials did not confirm this.

Hopes are also fading for the 13 students whose whereabouts are unknown. Efforts to contact them via telephone and text messages have failed, according to China's embassy in New Zealand.

The students, aged between 17 to 26, are believed to have been in class in King's Education, whose classrooms were on the second and third floor of the CTV building, when a magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck, reported the New Zealand Chinese Herald. Some 80 Asian students were registered at the school.

So far, 47 bodies have been pulled from the ruins of the building and many more are thought to be inside.

Authorities said 90 students and staffers from King's Education Ltd were missing.

Meanwhile, China has sent a rescue team to Christchurch at the request of the New Zealand government, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said yesterday.

According to the China Earthquake Administration, the 10-member team includes experts and rescuers.

Ma urged the New Zealand government to spare no effort in the search for the missing Chinese students.