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Slovenian design chosen for official Christchurch quake memorial

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

A design by Slovenian architect Grega Vezjak was named Wednesday as the official memorial for those who died or suffered in the February 2011 earthquake in New Zealand's second city of Christchurch.

The design had been chosen from the short-list of six and would be built on the stretch of the Avon River, which flows through Christchurch, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said in a statement.

"I think it will be a stunning tribute to the victims of Canterbury's earthquakes, those who suffered through the quakes, and the courage of those who participated in the rescue and recovery operations," Brownlee said.

"People will be able to follow the wall and take in the memories and acknowledgments of what occurred, and then cross a new pedestrian bridge to a beautiful gathering space where they can take time to reflect," he said.

"Slovenia has a long history of earthquakes and Mr Vezjak has empathy for those affected by the Christchurch quakes."

The Memorial Wall would be built at a cost of 11 million NZ dollars (8.14 million U.S. dollars) funded by central and local government sources.

"We look forward to seeing the design evolve into the kind of space that honors the memory of those who died or were seriously injured, acknowledges the struggles people still face as a result of the earthquakes, and expresses gratitude for the outpouring of support we received," Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said in the statement.

It was expected the different elements of the memorial would be completed in stages before an official dedication on the sixth anniversary of the deadly quake on Feb. 22, 2017.

Many of the 185 people killed in the 6.3-magnitude quake in February 2011 were from overseas.

More than half the victims -- 115 people -- died in the collapse of the CTV building in central Christchurch.

They included 64 Asian students studying at an English language school: 17 students from the Chinese mainland, 28 from Japan, 10 from the Philippines, six from Thailand, two from the Republic of Korea, and one from Taiwan. Endi