After the September 11 attacks in 2001 , emergency supplies for an evacuation of this high-rise were installed , including ropes , sledge hammers , and axes . In the 2011 Christchurch earthquake , the staircases in Forsyth Barr House collapsed , trapping the occupants . One of the trapped occupants , a trained mountain guide with experience in mountain rescue , had windows broken and abseiled people onto an adjacent car parking building . The photo of one of the occupants being abseiled along the glass façade , taken by '' The Press '' photographer John Kirk-Anderson , is one of the enduring images of that earthquake . Search of the building was technically difficult for urban search and rescue ( USAR ) teams , requiring the deconstruction of 4-tonne stair sets , but the building was cleared with no victims discovered
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Forsyth Barr Building