WELLINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Lessons that could save lives still need to be learned from the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch -- particularly from the search and rescue operation involving the CTV building where 64 young Asian students were among 115 deaths, a leading New Zealand lawyer said Thursday.
Nigel Hampton acted for some of the families of the eight people who survived the collapse of the CTV building for 12 hours following the Feb. 22 earthquake, but later died trapped in the building's rubble.
The eight people were probably killed by the movement of debris either through subsequent shakes or possibly by movement of debris during the search and rescue efforts, Hampton said in a statement ahead of an emergency management event at the University of Canterbury this week.
"No proper inquiry, regrettably, has been made into search and rescue efforts post the February quakes, when so much might have been learnt. There has not been any real effort to hold organizations and individuals within such organizations to account, " said Hampton.
"None of my comments are to be taken as any criticism of the terrific efforts made by individuals, especially at the CTV site, to rescue trapped people, working without proper resources and command structures in the midst of terrifying after-shocks, imminent building collapse and fire," he said.
"But, for instance, how could it be allowed to happen that the rescuers on the east side of the building, who were lacking listening equipment and concrete cutting gear, were unaware that such gear was available on the western side of the same building?"
He criticized the government for not enabling the Royal Commission on the Christchurch earthquakes to expose the shortcomings of the search and rescue responses "fully and in a way which could not be ignored."
Unless the country faced squarely and dealt with the deeper issues then there would continue to be inadequate systems to cope with the range of problems that could arise after a disaster.
"One is forced to the conclusion that, in New Zealand, the ability to determine responsibility and accountability in any search and rescue response is directly related to the political will and motivation at Cabinet and government level," he said.
A report by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry detailed how the CTV building, which was designed in 1986 and completed around 1988, should never have been issued with a construction permit because it failed to comply with building regulations.
Most of the 185 people killed in the 6.3-magnitude quake died when the building collapsed and caught fire.
|
