The mother of a teenager who died after having a medical episode and being restrained at a public swimming pool in the Hunter Region says her heart is in pieces following her son's tragic death.
Pono Wairua Aperhama was at the Lambton Pool in Newcastle with a carer yesterday when he reportedly began self harming and punching himself in the head.
Bystanders and pool employees tried to restrain him before emergency services arrived but the 17-year-old went into cardiac arrest while paramedics were treating him and he later died at John Hunter Hospital.
His mother Terina Abraham told The Daily Telegraph her son's health problems began after a bike accident in Sydney several years ago.
She said she was planning to travel to Sydney from her home in New Zealand to organise her son's funeral.
"The fight he endured just to live. He made me realise anything in life is possible if you want it so much," Ms Abraham said.
"My heart has been pulled out of my body and thrown into pieces on the ground."
"I am speechless.... My king was the love of my life and my everything. He made me the person I am today."
A friend said that Pono was in intensive care for "quite some time" following the "horrible" accident in which he was hit by a car while riding a bike.
"He was riding a bike when a car hit him," they said.
"He was a fighter. His tough spirit got him through a lot. He never gave up and always had a smile on his face.
"He was always a cheeky fella, always smiling."
Police have launched a critical incident investigation into what happened at the pool.
Witnesses reported seeing up to eight people trying to restrain the teenager at the Durham Rd facility. Susan Clark said it was "traumatic" and her heart went out to the teen's family.
Northern Region commander, Assistant Commissioner Max Mitchell said pool staff and witnesses tried to help Pono after he reportedly began punching himself in the head and hurting himself due to a medical episode.
"Members of the public, and then later police, were restraining the young male.. there is no suggestion whatsoever this person was laid on his stomach... there is no suggestion there is any likelihood of suffocation," he said.
"I think they were courageous quite frankly. They have gone there for no other reason but to support the young person."
The pool, run by Lane 4 Aquatics but owned by Newcastle City Council, was reopened at 9am today after going into lockdown and becoming a crime scene overnight.
Council ICEO Jeremy Bath said it was an "absolute tragedy" and counselling was being offered.
"I'm very comfortable in terms of how everyone responded. Everyone did their absolute best to save the young man's life. All we can do is express our sympathies," he said.
"Not just to the mans family but to his carer that was with him at that time."
He said one of the staff members who was injured in the incident had a "number of scratches and bite marks" but had returned to work out of choice.