'No way it was safe' - quake family seeks answers

Photo / NZ Herald

The family of a man killed in the February 22 Christchurch earthquake want to know why the building he was in was allowed to be occupied - despite being red-stickered.

Jaime Gilbert was crushed by masonry when the Iconic Bar in Manchester St collapsed on him and his sister.

Mr Gilbert was one of five officially declared a victim of the 6.3 magnitude aftershock by the coroner yesterday.

Amy Cooney was working in the bar with her brother at the time of the quake, but managed to make it out of the building alive.

"I know that from the September earthquake the building was red-stickered originally and I would like to see the actual engineer's report that makes the claim that it was safe enough because there is no way it was safe enough to be in," she told Radio New Zealand.

"I'd like to know if in fact it was allowed to be reopened again, because obviously I've lost my brother's life and if it wasn't meant to be reopened again then someone needs to answer for that."

Jaime's father, Robert Gilbert told Radio New Zealand the building was quickly resold "rapidly" between the September quake and February aftershock.

He said he wanted to know why the status of the building was changed.

"Nothing is going to bring back Jaime, I'm not interested in witch hunts. I do want the questions asked. I want to know that nobody's been negligent or greedy or broken rules and if somebody has they certainly should be held accountable ... so that as we build a new city we can learn.

"For goodness sake, lets not make the same mistakes ever again, if mistakes have been made."

Mr Gilbert hoped the Royal Commission would answer the questions the family has about Jaime's death, although he is concerned the inquiry's focus will be weighted towards the PGC and CTV building collapses and the collapse of smaller buildings will be neglected.