Amber and Andy were among the guests trapped in the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Photo / Supplied
Amber and Andy were among the guests trapped in the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Photo / Supplied
When trying to reassure children in the face of terrifying news, a phrase made famous by American TV personality Mister Rogers is often trotted out: "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
A similar sentiment is explored in a new Prime documentary airing this Sunday,as New Zealand marks another year since the fatal Christchurch earthquake on February 22, 2011.
Help Is On The Way revisits that fateful moment, but steers clear of trying to cover the event in its entirety. Instead, it uses its hour of airtime to explore just one of the many stories of heroism to emerge from the rubble – the escape of 36 people from the 26-storey Hotel Grand Chancellor.
For anybody needing a refresher on what happened to the hotel, like many other buildings that day, it suffered significant damage during the quake and its aftershocks. Among other things, the building's stairwell was destroyed between level 22 and level 14, trapping dozens of guests, hotel staff and construction workers on the upper floors.
This message spraypainted on the road outside the hotel provided a source of hope for those trapped inside. Photo / Supplied
Help Is On The Way builds a picture of that day at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, mostly through the first-hand accounts of those who were in the mortally wounded building, including the concierge manager who had been working in the lobby, guests who were relaxing in their rooms, and construction workers who were working on existing damage to the hotel from the earthquake the previous September.
While the documentary uses a few re-enactments to demonstrate what happened, as well as some footage from the scene, it mostly relies on those people and their stories, knowing what they have to say is more compelling.
They manage to convey effectively the terror of being in a high-rise building during a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, as they describe the lights going out, the sirens going off and the dust filling the air as the concrete above their heads and below their feet groaned with every shake.
Christchurch's Hotel Grand Chancellor (centre) was in danger of collapse in the aftermath of the February 2011 quake. Photo / NZ Herald
In typical reserved Kiwi fashion, those interviewed are mostly calm as they recount what happened to them. Barrie, a builder who was on level 26, and Leigham, a plasterer who was thrown from his scaffolding during the first big shake, even manage to inject some levity into proceedings as they recall raids on the minibars to quell their understandable anxieties.
Obviously, much of the interviewees' calmness comes from the simple fact they've been well clear of that hotel for nine years. But there are moments during Help Is On The Way when that poised veneer cracks and the obvious psychological scars are laid bare.
As well as gaining insights from what went on in and around the Hotel Grand Chancellor, viewers will also no doubt marvel at the ways in which some people are able to think on their feet during moments of huge stress, as they try to figure out a way to save themselves and those around them.
We also get to hear from the police officers who were on duty that day, including the man who thought to grab a spray can and write a giant message on the road for the people trapped inside the hotel: "Help is on the way."
There are several opportunities during the documentary to see and hear the effect that simple message had on those who read it from the windows of their lurching hotel rooms – and each is goosebump material.
Earthquake damage inside the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Photo / Supplied
Because, more than anything, Help Is On The Way is about the power of hope.
It's also about how, when the crunch comes, there will always be people who are ready and willing to band together to help one another. It shows that the urge to reach out and help is stronger than whatever peril might be facing us - a sentiment we could all do with hanging on to these days.
Help Is On The Way airs this Sunday at 8.30pm on Prime.
