Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale death - Aryan was 'fun-loving, happy child'

Hawkes Bay Today
7 Sep, 2015 06:46 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Aryan Banerjee with his parents Anjan and Maumita. Photo / Supplied

Aryan Banerjee with his parents Anjan and Maumita. Photo / Supplied

A little boy's brave battle for life was finally lost yesterday.

After months of fighting, flights, long days and nights spent in constant limbo - Aryan Banerjee died "peacefully" in his parents' arms at Hawke's Bay Hospital.

The "happy" 9-year-old's life and that of his family changed forever when he went to Taradale Primary School on May 25 and was later found unconscious after being hooked on a toilet window by his shirt.

An ambulance was called just after 1pm.

Father, Anjan, a Hawke's Bay GP and mother Maumita faced the heartbreak ahead - watching many downs and occasional ups of their son's life after the incident.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They had struggled to see their once active, loving child who liked playing Halo, Minecraft and football suffer brain damage and many other complications - pain, dystonia, pneumonia and complications with his feeding tube.

His legs and arms did not function independently and doctors could do little to ease their concerns.

He had been back in Hawke's Bay for just a couple of weeks when "it all went to hell in a handcart," and Aryan's condition deteriorated significantly. An obstructed bowel and aspiration pneumonia led to the outcome no parent would want to face.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We had prepared ourselves for this possibility, but it still hurts," Mr Banerjee said yesterday. "You should never outlive your kids".

He leaves behind 11-year-old brother Anshul, devastated parents, grandparents, extended family and friends. His body will be cremated.

Mr Banerjee hoped his son would be remembered not for what happened to him, but how he lived life.

"He was a fun-loving child who was friendly and wanted to play with everyone and anyone."

Discover more

Father of Taradale boy injured at school, speaks out

15 Aug 09:15 PM

Injured schoolboy dies

07 Sep 05:27 AM

Dead boy's parents await answers

01 Nov 08:05 PM

It's the second major loss their family endured this year after Anjan's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and passed away soon after Aryan's accident.

Worksafe, the Government's workplace safety agency said yesterday its investigation was ongoing and no comment could be made at this stage.

There were still more questions than answers in the case that shook a community to its core.

Circumstances surrounding the incident had not been fully explained, but reports at the time said Aryan was believed to have climbed out a toilet window after the door wouldn't open.

After their initial investigations police would not reveal any details but were treating it as an accident.

Aryan was resuscitated and taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital, he was later put into a coma and flown to Starship children's hospital in Auckland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Taradale Primary School board of trustees chairman Steve Alexander said it received confirmation that Aryan had passed away, yesterday.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the Banerjee family," he said.

"He was a much-loved member of our school.

"Our immediate priority is to support Aryan's family, and to focus on the wellbeing of all his friends and classmates, as well as the wider school community."

Mr Alexander said in the days ahead it would work with the Ministry of Education's support team, and would continue to provide details of grief counselling to the families of pupils.

"The WorkSafe NZ investigation into the May accident is continuing - the school will not be making any further comment until these investigations are complete."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Taradale Primary Principal Marty Hantz could not be contacted last night.

Mr Banerjee believed the Worksafe report would be released on September 25.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

19 Jun 10:45 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

19 Jun 09:14 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

19 Jun 09:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

Stabbing in Hawke’s Bay, one taken to hospital with serious wounds

19 Jun 10:45 PM

One person was taken into custody at the scene.

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

Air NZ plane lands safely after mid-air maintenance alert

19 Jun 09:14 PM
'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

'Living expressions': Pou returned to Hastings Civic Square after restoration

19 Jun 09:00 PM
Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 08:11 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP