WorkSafe has filed charges following an investigation into a gas explosion in a house on Marble Court, Northwood, Christchurch in July last year.

Charges have been filed under the Gas Act 1992 against two defendants following the incident in which a gas explosion caused serious harm to several individuals, destroyed a house and caused significant damage to several other properties in the neighbourhood.  These charges follow an investigation led by Energy Safety of Worksafe New Zealand, in consultation with the New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the Crown Solicitor’s office.

The first appearance for this matter will be on August 18 at 2.15pm in the Christchurch District Court. 

As this matter is currently before the court, WorkSafe is unable to provide any further information.

WorkSafe has made efforts to contact all persons affected by this incident, but asks that any person affected who has not been in contact with WorkSafe does so via marble.court@worksafe.govt.nz.

Notes:

  • A party charged under the Gas Act 1992 has the right to apply for name suppression at the first court hearing.
  • Requests for any WorkSafe investigation reports will be declined until the conclusion of the court process.

Media contact details

For more information you can contact our Media Team using our media request form. Alternatively, you can:

Phone: 021 823 007 or

Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz