Father's anguish over son's lake death

Aarush Macwan, aged 3, died when the van in which he and his family were travelling rolled into Lake Dunstan, near Cromwell. Photo / Supplied

A father facing charges over the death of his three-year-old son told last night of his heartbreak and shock at watching his only child die in a submerged van.

Ashish Macwan, 32, said there were no words to describe how he and his wife, Kinnery Macwan, were feeling after the accident on Thursday that claimed the life of their son, Aarush.

The family were travelling in the South Island in their Toyota Hiace van with two family friends on an Easter break and pulled into a lay-by near Cromwell.

Mr Macwan, the driver, stopped to stretch his legs and was facing away from the van when it rolled backwards towards a bank and plunged into the cold Lake Dunstan.

The adults and an 11-year-old scrambled free with the help of passers-by.

But Aarush was trapped in the back with his safety belt on, 5m below the surface.

Rescuers, including Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper, dived into the lake but could not save him because the water was too deep and cold.

Mr Macwan has been charged with careless driving causing death.

The horror of seeing it happen is haunting him and his wife and preventing them from sleeping, even though they have been given medication.

Yesterday, Mrs Macwan was taken to hospital with high blood pressure but was home again last night.

Through tears and surrounded by friends, Mr Macwan told the Weekend Herald yesterday that he did not know what the future held.

"He was our reason for living," he said of his son. "We are just praying to the Lord, asking Christ to give us the power to live ... without him."

Having Aarush was the best thing that had happened to him and his wife.

He said he had believed the van was in gear and wouldn't move, so could not understand how it had rolled into the lake.

One police officer had told him that if it was in his hands Mr Macwan wouldn't have been charged, but he accepted it.

"That's their job and I understand that."

Aarush -"an unbelievably charming little boy" - started kindergarten a short while ago and was quickly coming out of his shell.

"All the teachers loved him. He was quiet at first, especially when he doesn't know a place, but after a few days he opens up.

"It was the same about New Zealand. Whenever I said to him, 'Do you want to go back to India?' he said, 'No, I don't want to go back to India'."

The family migrated to Auckland last July.

Mr Macwan is a sales professional and Mrs Macwan is three months away from completing a post-graduate diploma in education.

Mr Macwan said their little boy was happy during the trip, between Mt Cook and Queenstown.

"He was loving it".

Mr Macwan said his parents had been planning a trip to New Zealand at Christmas to see Aarush.

A friend of the family couldn't believe Mr Macwan had been charged.

"What can he say? He has already paid for it."

Mayor Lepper was shaken by the incident.

"It's a bloody tragedy. A vehicle simply parked on the side of the lake for a minute and the next thing, it's rolled into the water. "

He was travelling to a meeting at Tarras with district councillor Jeff Hill and council staff member Jono Gadd when Mr Macwan flagged them down.

"Jono and I stripped off a bit and dived into the water and tried to save the wee boy but it was absolutely freezing and the water was too deep.

"You could see the van, but it was so far down we couldn't reach it. We had to give up ...

"There were a couple of young guys there helping too. I don't know who they were, but they dived in and were doing a good job. They got a woman passenger out and pulled her to the lake edge and then we helped lift her up over the rocks.

"I think she was the mother of the boy and, to be honest, she wasn't looking so good at first, but then she coughed and spluttered up some water and seemed to come right."

Mr Hill said the men tried their hardest to save the toddler, but the depth of water and the fact the van was upside down made it impossible.

"Everyone was pretty gutted, but they'd tried their best," the district councillor said. "To stay down there long enough, you would have needed breathing apparatus."

He said Mrs Macwan appeared to go into shock when she came around and realised her son was trapped.

Mr Macwan will appear in court on Wednesday.

- Additional reporting: Otago Daily Times