Today, a memorial service was held for students and teachers from an English Language school who died following the earthquake on Feb 22nd. Their school was on the fifth floor of the CTV building which collapsed, killing 71 students and 9 teachers. 27 were young students from Japan, 22 from China, 12 from the Philippines, 6 from Thailand and 4 from other countries. Another 40 students survived.

More than 700 people attended the service. They included the mayor of Christchurch, some MPs, many emergency people who had helped to find survivors, family members and friends of those who had died. There were speeches, music and prayers. Students lit candles on the stage for those who had died and everyone was invited to place a New Zealand fern on the floor beside the candles. It was a very sad occasion.

After the earthquake, the Minister of Education met and talked with the families of those students who died. The New Zealand government paid the expenses for two family members of each person missing to come to New Zealand. The families know that New Zealand is doing all that it can do to help during this terrible time. They are grateful for this.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister yesterday said there will be an Inquiry into why that building and the PG building collapsed. It is important to learn what went wrong so that buildings can be improved in the future.

Questions

How does a service like this help families and friends of those who died?