NZ fatal quake building design deficient
2012-12-10 09:00
Wellington - A six-storey building that collapsed, killing
115 people, when an earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, in February
2011 should never have been built, according to an official inquiry report
released on Monday.
The design and construction of the Canterbury Television
(CTV) Building were deficient and it should never have been given a permit by
the Christchurch City Council, the royal commission's report said.
Prime Minister John Key described the report as "grim
and sobering reading" and said, "Its design did not comply with the
standards of the time, and there were inadequacies in the construction of the
building."
The CTV Building accounted for well over half the 185 people
who died in the magnitude-6.3 quake on 22 February last year. The 115 victims
included 70 students from more than 20 countries at an English language school
on the third floor.
Only seven people who were in the 1986 concrete building at
the time survived.
The report said the building should not have been approved
for continued occupation after a magnitude-7.1 quake caused widespread damage
in the South Island's largest city on 4 September, 2010.
Fake degree
Key noted that the building had been inspected by only three
building officials, none of whom was an engineer. It was inspected again after
a magnitude-4.9 aftershock on 26 December 2010, and declared safe a second
time, having suffered only superficial damage.
During the inquiry, it was discovered the man who supervised
the building's construction had faked his engineering degree after stealing the
identity of a retired engineer based in Britain who was a friend.
Key said the report found that 175 of the total 185 deaths
in the city were caused by failures of buildings or parts of buildings and the
inquiry had been launched to find answers as to why they failed so severely.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission's full report
contains more than 1 100 pages in seven volumes and makes 189 recommendations,
which Key said the government would consider.
The report followed an eight-week hearing that heard
testimony from more than 80 witnesses, including survivors, witnesses, building
designers, architects, engineers, builders and inspectors.
- SAPA
