New Zealand Prince William thanks earthquake rescue workers on visit to Christchurch - Prince William has toured earthquake-ravaged Christchurch, saying the damage to the city is "unbelievable" and thanking rescue workers for their efforts over the past three and a half weeks.
On the first stop of his last-minute two-day visit to New Zealand, he was escorted to several sites around the city to talk to search and rescue workers who had worked to free people in the hours and days after the Feb 22 earthquake struck.
Driving through the city streets that had been reduced to rubble by the powerful earthquake, the Prince was visibly shocked by the extent of the destruction.
After stopping off at the Christchurch Cathedral, which has lost its spire and is now surrounded by metal scaffolding, and passing the Grand Chancellor Hotel, the city's tallest building which is leaning dangerously and will have to be demolished, he told Des Bull, an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) engineer: "It's just the scale of it is unbelievable.
"When you see buildings like that....that's very very sad. It really does bring it home to see it leaning like that."
The Prince, who has taken time out from preparing for his wedding to embark on a five-day tour of New Zealand and Australia, spent most of the visit talking to members of the USAR teams that combed the city's fallen buildings for survivors and, later, helped to retrieve bodies that had been trapped in the rubble. The death toll from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake stands at 166 and is expected to exceed 180.
In Latimer Square, a staging post for USAR workers in the city centre, he thanked dozens of gathered USAR workers for their efforts during he crisis.
"I wanted to say thank you, you have done a tremendous job," he said. "It has got to have been a horrible few weeks for you.
"You have done fantastically well, it could have been a lot worse without your professionalism."
The Prince was keen to hear personal stories from the tragedy, and stopped off to speak to Steve Barclay, national USAR manager, whose own home had been condemned that day.
Looking visibly shocked, the Prince said: "I'm so sorry, that's very sad."
He also spoke to Shane O'Brien, a USAR logistics manager, who had brought his two young daughters with him.
Mr O'Brien told the Prince that his home, in the suburb of Bexley, had been ruined in the earthquake and he was still waiting to hear whether the land was safe enough to rebuild on or whether his family would have to relocate.
Addressing the girls, seven-year-old twins Lilah and Verity, the Prince said: "Who are these lovely young girls? Are you looking after your dad?"
Prince William, wearing a chocolate-coloured blazer, blue checked shirt and beige chinos, was relaxed throughout the tour and his informal style rubbed off on the people around him, with many of the men calling him "mate" and "boss". While posing for a photograph wearing a hat belonging to one of the USAR workers he joked light-heartedly: "It smells a bit dodge ..." to the amusement of the group.
Earlier, he shared a laugh with five women whose sole job is to install mobile lavatories to hundreds of stricken homes without running water or sewage.
The so-called "Ladies of the Portaloos" were told by a grinning Prince: "It's a dirty job, but I suppose someone's got to do it.
Underneath the banter, Prince William's lasting affection and regard for New Zealand was evident. He last visited the country in January 2010 and this is his fourth visit.
Talking about his own experiences as a helicopter pilot, he said that he had watched the unfolding crisis from England and had wanted to help.
"There were a lot of us who work in the military who were gnashing their teeth to come out here," he said.
Asked by one team member if he had been to New Zealand before he said: "I have, I love New Zealand and I'm glad to be back."
The feeling was mutual. Bob Parker, the mayor, said hundreds of people had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the Prince on his way from the airport.
"Our people need a boost, and this is working very well," he said.
All of the men and women who met him said they were touched that he had made the journey to Christchurch.
At his final stop, a fire station, Paul Rodwell said that his visit was "fantastic" for the city.
"For him to come here and meet the rescuers and shake our hands and be on our fire station is a big things for us, a really big thing," he said.
"We feel a bit isolated and we love England so for the future King to come and recognise us is a big thing, it lifts morale and morale has been pretty low."
Mr Rodwell told the Prince how he and his colleagues had pulled eight people out of the Canterbury TV building, where more than 100 people are believed to have perished.
"We were giving him (the prince) descriptions about how we found them and how we rescued them," he said.
"He was interested in how the actual building looked and how the conditions were when we got there.
"I told him about one of the Japanese girls who was trapped by her legs and she was scared that amputation could be on the line.
"She asked the doctor not to cut her legs off. He said he wouldn't but then she turned to us and said 'I trust you' and we got her out. She woke up in the hospital with both of her legs."
At the fire station the Prince was presented with a plaque from the New Zealand Transalpine Fire Region, and asked to sign a helmet that will be kept in the City Fire Station, which is yet to be built. The message read simply: "City Station, Good Luck! William".
Later, the Prince visited the town of Greymouth, where 29 miners died last year. On Friday he will attend a memorial service to those killed in the earthquake before flying to Australia where he will visit areas devastated by Cyclone Yasi and the severe flooding that killed more than 20 people in Queensland in January. ( telegraph.co.uk )
On the first stop of his last-minute two-day visit to New Zealand, he was escorted to several sites around the city to talk to search and rescue workers who had worked to free people in the hours and days after the Feb 22 earthquake struck.
Driving through the city streets that had been reduced to rubble by the powerful earthquake, the Prince was visibly shocked by the extent of the destruction.
After stopping off at the Christchurch Cathedral, which has lost its spire and is now surrounded by metal scaffolding, and passing the Grand Chancellor Hotel, the city's tallest building which is leaning dangerously and will have to be demolished, he told Des Bull, an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) engineer: "It's just the scale of it is unbelievable.
"When you see buildings like that....that's very very sad. It really does bring it home to see it leaning like that."
The Prince, who has taken time out from preparing for his wedding to embark on a five-day tour of New Zealand and Australia, spent most of the visit talking to members of the USAR teams that combed the city's fallen buildings for survivors and, later, helped to retrieve bodies that had been trapped in the rubble. The death toll from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake stands at 166 and is expected to exceed 180.
In Latimer Square, a staging post for USAR workers in the city centre, he thanked dozens of gathered USAR workers for their efforts during he crisis.
"I wanted to say thank you, you have done a tremendous job," he said. "It has got to have been a horrible few weeks for you.
"You have done fantastically well, it could have been a lot worse without your professionalism."
The Prince was keen to hear personal stories from the tragedy, and stopped off to speak to Steve Barclay, national USAR manager, whose own home had been condemned that day.
Looking visibly shocked, the Prince said: "I'm so sorry, that's very sad."
He also spoke to Shane O'Brien, a USAR logistics manager, who had brought his two young daughters with him.
Mr O'Brien told the Prince that his home, in the suburb of Bexley, had been ruined in the earthquake and he was still waiting to hear whether the land was safe enough to rebuild on or whether his family would have to relocate.
Addressing the girls, seven-year-old twins Lilah and Verity, the Prince said: "Who are these lovely young girls? Are you looking after your dad?"
Prince William, wearing a chocolate-coloured blazer, blue checked shirt and beige chinos, was relaxed throughout the tour and his informal style rubbed off on the people around him, with many of the men calling him "mate" and "boss". While posing for a photograph wearing a hat belonging to one of the USAR workers he joked light-heartedly: "It smells a bit dodge ..." to the amusement of the group.
Earlier, he shared a laugh with five women whose sole job is to install mobile lavatories to hundreds of stricken homes without running water or sewage.
The so-called "Ladies of the Portaloos" were told by a grinning Prince: "It's a dirty job, but I suppose someone's got to do it.
Underneath the banter, Prince William's lasting affection and regard for New Zealand was evident. He last visited the country in January 2010 and this is his fourth visit.
Talking about his own experiences as a helicopter pilot, he said that he had watched the unfolding crisis from England and had wanted to help.
"There were a lot of us who work in the military who were gnashing their teeth to come out here," he said.
Asked by one team member if he had been to New Zealand before he said: "I have, I love New Zealand and I'm glad to be back."
The feeling was mutual. Bob Parker, the mayor, said hundreds of people had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the Prince on his way from the airport.
"Our people need a boost, and this is working very well," he said.
All of the men and women who met him said they were touched that he had made the journey to Christchurch.
At his final stop, a fire station, Paul Rodwell said that his visit was "fantastic" for the city.
"For him to come here and meet the rescuers and shake our hands and be on our fire station is a big things for us, a really big thing," he said.
"We feel a bit isolated and we love England so for the future King to come and recognise us is a big thing, it lifts morale and morale has been pretty low."
Mr Rodwell told the Prince how he and his colleagues had pulled eight people out of the Canterbury TV building, where more than 100 people are believed to have perished.
"We were giving him (the prince) descriptions about how we found them and how we rescued them," he said.
"He was interested in how the actual building looked and how the conditions were when we got there.
"I told him about one of the Japanese girls who was trapped by her legs and she was scared that amputation could be on the line.
"She asked the doctor not to cut her legs off. He said he wouldn't but then she turned to us and said 'I trust you' and we got her out. She woke up in the hospital with both of her legs."
At the fire station the Prince was presented with a plaque from the New Zealand Transalpine Fire Region, and asked to sign a helmet that will be kept in the City Fire Station, which is yet to be built. The message read simply: "City Station, Good Luck! William".
Later, the Prince visited the town of Greymouth, where 29 miners died last year. On Friday he will attend a memorial service to those killed in the earthquake before flying to Australia where he will visit areas devastated by Cyclone Yasi and the severe flooding that killed more than 20 people in Queensland in January. ( telegraph.co.uk )
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