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KAIKOURA, New Zealand, Nov. 14 -- The first batch of six Chinese tourists has been airlifted from the worst-hit town of Karkoura to Christchurch after a deadly quake rocked much of New Zealand early Monday.

Staff with the Chinese consulate general in Christchurch, the country's second largest city, told Xinhua that "altogether 21 Chinese tourists, including one slightly injured in the head, have been found trapped in Kaikoura so far, and they are all safe now."

A 7.5-magnitude quake hit just after midnight Monday, leaving at least two dead.

Some 1,200 tourists were reported stuck in Kaikoura, a popular tourist destination famed for its coastal scenery and whale-watching activities as quake-triggered landslides have left the town isolated.

The quake was centered 15 km northeast of Culverden, on the east of the South Island, and struck at 12:02 a.m. on Monday, according to the government's GeoNet monitoring service.

It is being followed by many aftershocks, the largest of them a magnitude of 6.2.

A tsunami warning remained in place from Wellington, on the North Island, to Banks Peninsula, on the east of the South Island, said the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

New Zealand is frequently rattled by earthquakes, most of which do no damage and cause no injuries, but Monday's tremor brought back memories of the 6.3-magnitude quake that killed 185 people in Christchurch in February 2011.