Cathedral Update

25 Feb 2011

It had been initially thought that up to 22 people were inside the cathedral when the 6.3 magnitude quake struck on February 22.
However, a search of the building, including the collapsed spire, has been completed and no bodies were found, it was reported today.
Superintendent Sandra Manderson told Radio New Zealand that recovery teams were elated to have found no bodies.
She said it was likely that the estimated final death toll of 220 would be revised. The confirmed figure currently stands at 163.

ONE News

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A stained-glass window below the shattered spire inside the Christchurch Cathedral is flawless and untouched.

It glows in the evening light, flashing ruby reds, greens and violets, but above it is a chasm that opens to the sky and the shattered leftovers of a tower that once symbolised the heart of the city.

It is a strange contrast of artistic beauty and heart-breaking destruction that is repeated in the nave.

Last night, the Herald went inside the cathedral, where as many as 22 people are believed to have died.

Photographer Sarah Ivey entered through a side door, escorted by Urban Search and Rescue (Usar) staff.

She said the far wall was still dotted with beautiful, colourful windows.

But the floor was chequered with giant piles of rubble - stone, the wooden remains from pews, bricks - and clearings where rescue workers had swept a path through the debris.

Below the giant cuts through the roof were splintered steel girders bearing nothing of the wooden beams they used to hold.

In the middle of the floor was a steel pipe 1m tall by 10-15m long - a reminder of the risk of falling masonry. Rescue workers are armed with a horn which, when sounded, is a signal for them to dive headlong into such havens, which are designed to withstand anything the cathedral can throw at them.

Anyone entering the building, including Ivey, must be dressed in protective gear and given a briefing on three safe points, one being the haven. Usar members were at her side the entire time.

Apart from a few pigeons in what remains of the rafters, there was barely a sound, as if a silent blanket had descended on this sacred place in honour of those still buried within.

In one pile of rubble, next to a stone pillar that was defiantly still standing, the lectern stood upright, but beheaded to a shattered stick.

Rescuers carried out their work underneath electrical wires and big sheets of timber.

The cathedral, so sacred to the city, was smashed beyond recognition. There was no furniture visible among the rubble; pews were non-existent.

Ivey had never seen anything like it. "It was like walking into a black and white movie set that had been hit by a tornado. Everything was layered in a velvety dust and with every step I took there was a crunching of broken glass.

"It was so dusty I did not want to touch a thing. I did not want to leave a fingerprint.

"It was hauntingly eerie. I was in there for mere minutes but I did not say a single word."

Yesterday, Prime Minister John Key confirmed an inquiry would be held into the earthquake and safety issues around building collapses, which cost dozens of lives.

"There has to be an inquiry. We have to provide answers about why so many lost their lives," he said.

The Prime Minister will be in Christchurch today to observe two minutes' silence at 12.51pm - the exact time Tuesday's quake struck.

See a video of inside the earthquake torn Cathedral here.

The original story from the NZ Herald can be found here.

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Christchurch's iconic cathedral, which was badly damaged in the earthquake, will be rebuilt, Mayor Bob Parker says.

He said the building was a stunning and symbolic building.

"There is some discussion that that is a building we could rebuild brick by brick, stone by stone. We need to find some symbols like that."

He said a new and stronger city would rise out of the ruins and it was realistic to start thinking about it.

"The scale of what has happened here means we will have to take some bold steps."

He would not rule out the need to knock over whole blocks of the city, and some of the character buildings they would have once fought for may have to go.

"We have got to have a safe city going forward."

As many as 22 tourists are thought to be buried in the rubble of Christ Church Cathedral and its spire.

From Anglican Taonga - www.anglicantaonga.org.nz

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The Bishop of Christchurch, Victoria Matthews, said staff, including Dean Peter Beck, escaped the building but authorities believed up to 22 people could be still under the wreckage.

Hundreds of people visit the 130-year-old cathedral every day - most of them tourists - and it is feared many were inside when the 63m spire collapsed in the quake.

"The staff are okay, the volunteers are okay, the ones we're most concerned about are the people who had gone up into the tower - this happens with tourists every single day," said Bishop Matthews.

"They go up because there is - or there was - such a fabulous view from the tower."

"The woman who got out about one minute before the tower came down said there were people up there behind her when the tower came down.

"We don't know about bodies under the rubble and we're very, very concerned, very much considering that there will be fatalities."

Jamie Canard was eating lunch and watching people play a game on the giant chess set in the city square when the quake hit.

He watched the spire crumble.

"As soon as it fell, I knew people would be dead."

The 38-year-old programmer ran into the cloud of dust created by the collapsed spire to try to help those who were trapped or injured.

But someone yelled: "Leave! Get out! It's not safe."

He said he knew people would be buried under the rubble, but couldn't see anyone.

"I now feel like a fool leaving, now that I know people died trapped in there."

Mr Canard described the spire's collapse as a steadily increasing crescendo.

"It wasn't deafening, which surprised me, but it just slowly got louder."

He said the tower "just toppled over".

Another area of concern was the south porch, which fell into the building.

Although Bishop Matthews said those inside were likely to be tourists, anyone could have been in there.

"Because it was iconic and they would have been in there for a number of reasons, just to go and see it or to come and pray, or perhaps for the noon Eucharist."

She said church staff were compiling a list of Christchurch churches that were safe enough for people to come to pray, or to be used for funerals.

The church was focused on offering its safe churches for funeral use, as well as welfare centres where people could come for coffee and counselling.

The number of damaged churches was not known, but was significantly more than the 12 damaged by the September 4 quake, she said.

She said the cathedral would be rebuilt.

"It's very, very serious damage but it will be rebuilt. We don't see any reason why that will not happen.

"We have every reason to think it will be fine."

Dean Beck said on Wednesday he still did not know how many people were killed "but many will be tourists because the cathedral is such an important visitor attraction to the city".

Police sniffer dogs had found no sign of life in the rubble, and he accepted that the priority for emergency services was to rescue those who may yet have a chance of survival amid the collapse of other buildings.

"The focus of the police is to get the living out - so the main priority at the moment is not to get the bodies out."

The cathedral has until now attracted about 700,000 visitors a year and climbing the 134 steps of its bell-tower was one of the most popular of the many activities it had to offer.

The tower was 36m high and the spire rose 27m above that.

Tower climb certificates were available for those who made the ascent.

From the top of the spire, visitors gained spectacular views of Christchurch and the Port Hills.

Much of Christchurch was built around the cathedral, which was conceived of soon after the first four ships of European settlers arrived in 1850.

Its foundation stone was laid in 1864, and it was eventually completed in 1904 at a cost of £64,000.

Although it was designed according to the tradition of European cathedrals, ceiling timbers of matai and totara from Banks Peninsula, stone from local quarries and Polynesian art works gave it a strong cross-cultural identity.

Story from New Zealand Herald.Original article can be found here.