Christchurch penknife amputee: I wanted to die

Brian Coker: 'I just wanted there to be a decent aftershock to finish it.'
12 April 2012

Surrounded by his family, an earthquake survivor told today how he wanted to die before doctors using a penknife and a hacksaw amputated his legs as he lay trapped.

Brian Coker, a 52-year-old financial adviser, said: "I just wanted there to be a decent aftershock to finish it."

Surgeons, who were in Christchurch for a conference, performed the operation so he could be pulled out of the wreckage of the Pyne Gould building.

Mr Coker said he did not remember the amputation but he could recall drifting in and out of consciousness for six hours.

"I didn't know they were going to amputate my legs but I should have known. They cut my trousers while I was still conscious."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in