Christchurch police to further criminal investigation into CTV collapse
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Version 0 of 1. New Zealand police say they have enough information to warrant further criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of the Canterbury Television building in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The decision follows police calling in the engineering consultancy firm Beca to help go over the file this year. Detective Superintendent Peter Read says the families of the 115 people who died in the CTV building collapse have been informed of the decision. The building accounted for the majority of the 185 quake deaths. The six-storey, 25-year-old building crumpled within seconds and caught fire after the 6.3-magnitude earthquake on 22 February 2011. Sixty-five foreign students were among the victims. Subsequent investigations revealed it was not built to standards of the time. Beca was also asked to provide opinion on whether there were any serious departures from accepted standards by those involved in the building’s design or construction that could amount to gross negligence. Read said police had assessed a huge amount of information from a range of sources over the past 18 months. “We now believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant further criminal investigation. “That said, there is still a significant amount of work to be done before any investigation can be completed, the potential outcome of which is unknown.” Investigators will now gather more information and where necessary reinterview some of those who have previously given evidence at the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission, and perhaps others. It was too early to say how long the investigation would take, he said. |