A Whangārei Boys’ High School student disappeared after he and 14 of his Year 11 classmates got into difficulty on a trip at Abbey Caves.
His body was found late Tuesday evening after specialist equipment allowed rescuers to work into the night.
Burton wasted no time in reaching out to the school’s principal via email.
“I said I was very happy to help in any way shape or form and just wanted them to know one of the key messages is you never get over it but you work through it,” he said.
“And also to have a stance on there has to be grace, there has to be mercy before judgment. There will be accountability there’ll be huge investigations and the school will have to go through that and be held accountable, but we’re very quick to form an opinion and be super critical and that’s not very helpful for the family.”
A public outcry has since blasted the school for allowing the trip to go ahead despite the region being under an orange heavy rain warning.
WorkSafe confirmed this morning an investigation has begun, but couldn’t comment further while the investigation is under way.
Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis confirmed the Education Ministry’s Traumatic Incident Team is supporting the school.
Having endured the two-year-long legal battle which followed the Elim tragedy, Burton said “very challenging” times were on the way.
“It’s a very long process and you’re just at the mercy of that process and you just have to roll with the punches and stand by the family,” he said.
“I encourage the school to be open and transparent don’t promise anything but don’t avoid anything either.”
Northland District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill said police were ensuring the family members of the boy who died are being offered support.
Some cordons remain in place around the caves area while police continue to conduct a routine scene examination.
Hill said police would not speculate on what happened.
