Schoolboy 'signed his life away'

Edward Magalogo. Photo / Supplied

A student who drowned on a school geography trip forged his permission slip after his mother refused to allow him to go due to safety concerns.

Edward Magalogo, 18, was swept out to sea by a freak wave at Muriwai Beach during a field trip with Tangaroa College in March last year.

Fellow student Tu'a Alo, who was swept out to sea alongside Edward, said they spent 20 minutes in the water waiting to be saved.

The Year 13 student was pulled from the water unconscious by a surfer, who performed CPR on him. He was airlifted to hospital but died two days later.

An inquest into his death in the Auckland District Court this week heard that Edward had died of pneumonia caused by the inhalation of water.

Speaking outside the court, Edward's sister, Louann Magalogo Fagasoaia, said their mother hid the permission slip in the hope that Edward would not go on the trip.

But he signed the form himself. "He signed his life away," she said.

She said that the school should have checked the signature was authentic.

"Nothing can bring my brother back, but there was a lot of things the school could have done to prevent it from happening. Edward was everything to us. He used to do everything to help us and loved looking after my kids. He never answered you back. We miss him."

The inquest heard that the school had specified students were not to go swimming and only two to three students were to be in knee-deep water at any one time. However, coroner Murray Jamieson questioned Tangaroa College's head of geography, Murray Smith, who was in charge of the trip, about the "many references" in the students' statements to swimming. "Some refer to the fact that they asked you if they could swim and that you gave permission. They are making that up?" he asked.

Smith said: "I have never, ever said to any student they were able to go swimming. Splashing about in knee-deep water, to them that's swimming."

The Department of Labour concluded no charges would be laid. "It is difficult to see what more the school could have done from a realistic view point," it said in a report.

The coroner reserved his findings.