Police decision soon on quake deaths charges
Police investigating the fatal Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapse, in the earthquake in Christchurch in 2011, will dig trenches to examine the site’s soil and foundations.
Contractors will start the work on Monday.
The eight trenches will allow soil specialists and engineers to examine the south and north wall foundations. The work will take about a week.
The site would then be returned to its former condition, Detective Superintendent Peter Read said.
‘‘While this work is being carried out the area will be fenced and security will be in place limiting access to the site,’’ he said.
The February 22, 2011, earthquake killed 185 people, including 115 at the CTV building, 25 at the Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) building and 46 from unreinforced masonry collapses.
The police inquiry relates to four sites: ❚ The CTV Madras St. ❚ Southern Ink Tattoo on Colombo St where Matthew McEachen was killed by fall- building on ing masonry as he tried to leave the collapsing building which had been yellowstickered by the council after the September 4, 2010 quake. ❚ St Christopher’s Book Market at 7 Riccarton Rd where bricklayer Henry Ross Bush, 75, died when his work vehicle was buried beneath a large amount of debris. ❚ Ballantynes car park in Lichfield St where Linda Arnold, 57, was sitting in her car outside the building when she was killed by a falling concrete panel.
Police began assessing evidence about the sites with a view to criminal charges in 2013 and initially investigated 24 sites.
The CTV building inquiry has been the most difficult and time consuming.
By the end of 2014 police had a report from engineering firm Beca on whether standards were seriously breached.
Since September, police had rebuilt and tested ‘‘critical elements’’ of the CTV building. Those results were peer reviewed before they were factored into the inquiry, Read said.
He said the ‘‘long, very complex and technical’’ police inquiry was nearing its closing stages.
Police expected to decide on charges later this year. Read could not give a more definitive timeframe.
‘‘The outcome of the investigation, and any decisions on criminal culpability, will be communicated first to the families and then publicly,’’ he said.
A royal commission found the Christchurch City Council should not have granted a resource consent for the CTV building, highlighted inadequacies in its construction and concluded it should not have been green-stickered by the council after the September 2010 quake.
The report said David Harding, who designed the CTV building in 1986, was left largely unsupervised by his boss, engineer Alan Reay, despite Harding’s limited experience designing multilevel buildings.
The commissioners found the design had non-complying aspects, that Harding was working ‘‘beyond his competence’’ and that Reay did not review the design.