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WELLINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Police said Friday it had completed an investigation into the collapse of a building that killed 115 people in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but no decision has been made on a prosecution.
The CTV building collapsed and caught fire in the 6.3-magnitude quake and killed 115 people. Victims included 64 Asian students studying at an English language school.
The police investigation report into the collapse was now with the Christchurch Crown Solicitor for review, Detective Superintendent Peter Read said in a statement.
The file would then undergo further legal review before police made a final decision regarding any prosecution.
"The investigation report includes expert engineering advice which has been subject to overseas peer review," said Read.
Police were still awaiting further commentary around some of the advice, but this had been delayed due to the impact of last month's 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the upper South Island and the availability of the relevant engineering experts.
The review of the file by the Christchurch Crown Solicitor would be progressed once the further commentary was received.
"I can only reiterate again that this is a very complex, technical investigation and our priority must be to ensure it is conducted methodically and thoroughly, taking into account all the relevant expert advice, before we can reach a final decision," Read said.
A report by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry detailed how the six-storey CTV building, which was designed in 1986 and completed around 1988, had a "design that was deficient in a number of important respects" and should never have been issued with a construction permit because it failed to comply with building regulations.
The commission also found the city-center building was never properly structurally assessed after being damaged in strong earthquakes on Sept. 4 and Dec. 26, 2010, despite being inspected by three building officials.
