A man whose wife died after being trapped for hours in earthquake rubble is fighting to get an inquiry into the failure of search and rescue workers to save her and others.
Srecko "Alec" Cvetanov spoke to his wife, Tamara, by cellphone on and off for almost three hours while she was trapped in the collapsed CTV building after the February earthquake.
In March, Mr Cvetanov described the agony of being unable to reach her even though she could hear him through the rubble.
In their last phone conversation at 1.13am on February 23, she suggested turning her cellphone off to conserve the battery.
"I said, 'Good idea. Use [the phone] if you are in danger.' I said, `I'll wait for your call then,"' Mr Cvetanov said.
"I thought since she's not calling me, she's okay. But apparently she wasn't."
Mr Cvetanov has succeeded in having the death of his wife separated from other quake deaths for further investigation by the coroner.
But his legal team is trying to get a separate inquiry that will explore the actions of search and rescue workers in relation to his wife and others after the February quake.
Mr Cvetanov's lawyer, Nigel Hampton, QC, said his client had sought an independent review through either a ministerial inquiry or the likes of agencies responsible for search and rescue, but had not received "any effective response as to that yet".
"In effect, it will be said - whatever form of an inquiry we get to eventually - that [Mrs Cvetanov] was alive with four other women in the same space near her ... for quite some time, and that there was a period of inaction, notwithstanding her whereabouts having been pinpointed with some degree of accuracy.
"And then secondly, a series of rather inept actions Mr Cvetanov believes played a part in his wife's death, and the death of the other women in that same space around her."
Mr Cvetanov wanted a safe future for his two children, aged 8 and 10.
"He doesn't want to be seen as a victim," Mr Hampton said.
"He wants to be heard as a person who can highlight issues that he believes have to be highlighted about search and rescue, and matters that can be improved on in future."
A spokesman for Attorney-General Chris Finlayson said the minister could not comment on particular individuals.
Coroner's inquests gave an opportunity for examining questions about individuals' deaths, and a review into the February earthquake was being commissioned by Civil Defence, the spokesman said.
The Fire Service, which is responsible for Urban Search and Rescue, said it would be inappropriate to comment.
