Coroner: Focus on safety, not blame, after toddler Kelvin Chand drowns in Whanganui septic tank

The toddler drowned at a family property near Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley, Whanganui Chronicle

The family of a toddler who drowned after falling into a septic tank shouldn’t be the focus of blame.

That’s the view of a coroner who says it’s more important to highlight the dangers young children face when playing outside, rather than infer blame on an individual for Kelvin Chand’s death in January 2023.

In his findings, Coroner Mark Wilton said the toddler was playing in an enclosed yard on the lifestyle block in Whanganui, which was under construction on the day of the tragedy.

Kelvin’s uncle was doing some maintenance work on the septic tank and had removed the 1.8m deep tank’s concrete cover and put a polythene sheet over the top before going inside to wash his hands.

He had planned to seal the tank once he’d finished washing up.

While inside, he saw the 22-month-old playing near his father, who was working on a fence.

A short time later, Kelvin’s father noticed his son was missing and began searching for him.

During the search, the uncle noticed the tank’s polythene covering had shifted. He jumped into the tank and found Kelvin submerged, before pulling him out and beginning CPR.

Neither the uncle nor the paramedics who arrived shortly after were able to revive the toddler.

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Coroner Wilton said he endorsed the safety measures recommended by Whānau Āwhina Plunket about the supervision of children when playing outside, saying they may have helped reduce the risk of harm to Kelvin on the afternoon of his death.

Those recommendations include:

• Always stay with and actively supervise your young child when they’re playing outside or around water.
• Take a mobile or cordless phone outside with you – if you forget and need to run inside to answer it, take your child with you.
• Always take your child indoors with you, even if you’re only going for a minute.
• Check that children can’t get into the garden shed. Lock all your garden poisons and tools away.
• Check that your child can’t get onto the road or driveway from their play area.

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Coroner Wilton also endorsed a current review by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Water New Zealand of septic tank safety, which proposes including fixed security grates on the tank’s opening.

The coroner found Kelvin’s death was a tragic accident and extended his condolences to Kelvin’s family for their loss.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.