Witnesses before the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission have been questioned about why a building known to be earthquake prone was allowed to reopen, despite several red flags.
A new plan will see all dangerous earthquake-damaged buildings in Christchurch's Cashel Mall pulled down or made safe by mid-July.
Christchurch man Tom Brittenden tells Simon Mercep of the scenes of chaos around Cashel Mall with a story of both survival and tragedy.
One of the defining images of the Christchurch earthquake has been the photo of an ash covered Shane Tomlin, pulled alive from a bakery in Cashel Mall. His mother Doreen Tomlin, says she only realised her son had been rescued when she saw his photo on the front page of The Press.
On 22 February 2011, Christchurch police sargeant Dave Harvey was outside the earthquake-damaged Hotel Grand Chancellor on Cashel Street, unsure if anyone was trapped inside. In case they were, he grabbed a can of spray paint and painted 'Help is on the way' in one-metre high letters on the road. Harvey's quick thinking really helped the people trapped in the hotel, says Clare Mackey, producer of the new documentary Help is on the Way.