A coroner says a child who drowned while swimming at a public pool in Whanganui was a “stark reminder” of the speed at which tragedies can happen, even in environments that seemed benign. Photo / 123rf
A coroner says a child who drowned while swimming at a public pool in Whanganui was a “stark reminder” of the speed at which tragedies can happen, even in environments that seemed benign. Photo / 123rf
7-year-old Gerrard-Junior Raunga Williams-Bogileka drowned at Whanganui’s Splash Centre in July 2020.
Coroner Robin Kay has highlighted the speed at which children can drown, even when trained lifeguards are on site.
The pool’s owner and operator, the Whanganui District Council, has increased lifeguards and is considering using AI technology to prevent future incidents.
A family outing to an aquatic centre ended in tragedy in a few moments when no one was looking.
Gerrard-Junior Raunga Williams-Bogileka, 7, drowned in July 2020 while playing in a shallow, uncrowded pool at Whanganui’s Splash Centre.
Coroner Robin Kay said in his findings released today it was a“stark reminder” of the speed at which children can drown unnoticed, even in environments that seemed benign.
Kay said several factors contributed to Gerrard’s death and had any one of those not occurred, he might have survived.
Central to Kay’s inquiry was the question of how the lifeguards on duty failed to notice that Gerrard was flailing, and then floating face down, when there were few people in the pool at that time.
Evidence showed they were properly trained and knew how to respond to emergency situations, but the tragedy happened in a sequence of events over a few critical moments.
Splash Centre in Whanganui is owned and operated by the local council, which is investigating whether to install a “drowning prevention system”.
On the afternoon of July 6, 2020, Gerrard went to Splash Centre with his mother, grandmother and other children of his whānau.
All except Gerrard’s grandmother got into the training pool, which was less than a metre deep.
She instead sat poolside, watching her whānau and taking photographs on her cellphone.
Several lifeguards were on duty and supervising the various activities under way in the aquatic areas.
He was spinning around and lost his balance
Gerrard, who was described as a strong swimmer, was seen standing in the pool and then spinning around with his arms, head and neck above the water before stopping to pick up a football that was floating nearby.
He resumed spinning but then lost his balance and fell into the water.
CCTV footage captured splashes in the area where Gerrard was last seen above the water.
His mother was concentrating on three other children in the pool and her ability to monitor Gerrard was therefore compromised, Kay said.
His grandmother was momentarily distracted while putting her cellphone away.
Minutes after Gerrard had slipped and was then floating face down, a member of the public alerted a lifeguard, who asked a child in the pool to touch Gerrard’s shoulder.
When he saw Gerrard’s leg move, he thought Gerrard was merely “holding his breath”, the coroner said.
The lifeguard then walked to where Gerrard was floating face down near the pool steps, with his arms and legs dangling down in the water, and asked an adult sitting nearby if Gerrard was all right.
The adult tapped him on the shoulder but got no response, so they jumped into the water, turned Gerrard over and lifted him on to the side of the pool.
The lifeguard raised the alarm as CPR was started.
An automatic external defibrillator (AED) was attached to Gerrard’s chest but showed no heartbeat, which meant an electric shock could not be administered.
Emergency services arrived minutes later. Resuscitation attempts continued for almost an hour after Gerrard was taken to Whanganui Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Kay said.
Questions remain
A WorkSafe investigation found no failing in how the aquatic centre was operated and that it had complied with its normal procedures and relevant industry guidance.
The coroner said that notwithstanding WorkSafe’s investigation, questions remained about why Gerrard drowned.
Kay said he wanted to understand why Gerrard was unable to rescue himself when he got into difficulty and why no one recognised that he was in trouble.
The opinion of a paediatric neurologist was that Gerrard became disorientated by his continuous, vigorous rotations, lost his balance and fell into the water.
Unable to regain his footing, he panicked, inhaled water and drowned.
The coroner found this happened in the brief time it took two lifeguards to swap positions poolside, which momentarily obstructed their view.
Kay said there was also “significant glare” from the water at the time but it was not possible to say to what extent that affected people’s ability to see that Gerrard was in trouble.
The aquatic centre was now owned and operated by the Whanganui District Council when at the time of the incident, it was operated by Sport Whanganui.
The council’s chief executive David Langford told NZME it was a tragic event and the council’s deepest sympathies were with Gerrard’s whānau and loved ones.
The council had, in accordance with the coroner’s recommendations, increased the number of lifeguards and was considering adding another during peak periods.
It was also investigating whether to install a “drowning prevention system” similar to those elsewhere that used AI technology to alert lifeguards to potential drowning incidents.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.
