Coroner calls for patrolled swimming areas after four drownings in Northland
Friday, 20 May 2022
Unpatrolled swimming areas and a lack of preparation for conditions played a part in the drownings of four men in Northland from 2018 to 2019, a coroner has found.
Hanbo Bao, 44 and Zhongyu Deng, 40, both drowned on Christmas day in 2019 at Kai Iwi Lakes in the Far North and Uretiti Beach near Whangārei.
Bao had gone snorkelling at Kai Iwi Lakes, while visiting the area with his family, and didn’t return to shore. His body was found at the bottom of a shelf in the water about 20 metres below the surface.
The same day, Deng had been crab fishing with a friend at Uretiti Beach when he went to collect a crab pot and disappeared under a wave. Deng was later found at one of the crab pots with his arm tangled in a rope.
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In both cases, coroner Tania Tetitaha noted there were no lifeguards on patrol, despite both areas being popular destinations in summer.
The Kaipara District Council said there were no lifeguards at Kai Iwi Lakes due to not being able to get enough qualified lifeguards to patrol the area.
The council told Tetiaha it would “consider” having lifeguards over the summer peak period, and it would commission a report assessing options for employing lifeguards at different locations at the lakes.
Tetiaha also noted warning signs about less buoyancy in the lakes compared to saltwater were only in English and Bao may not have been able to understand them.
“I’m concerned Mr Bao may not have understood the hazards of swimming at Kai Iwi Lakes. To prevent similar deaths more signage in multiple languages should be installed.”
Tetitaha also recommended Kaipara District Council, Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council look into funding Surf Lifesaving New Zealand to provide a lifeguard presence at Uretiti Beach over summer.
The report stated the three councils didn’t respond to this recommendation.
Five months before the deaths of Bao and Deng, 51-year-old John Park also drowned at sea off the Tutukaka Coast, east of Whangārei, while on a solo paddle on his surf ski.
The sea conditions were moderate to rough, Coroner Alexander Ho noted, and Park capsized twice. The second time he capsized he stayed in the water and nearly an hour later sent out a distress flare.
Ho noted he didn’t have a locator beacon, so the rescue crew had to navigate visually for him in rough seas. He was found 45 minutes later, but had drowned.
Park’s death was avoidable, Ho said, and he reminded people not to go out in rough conditions, carry multiple communication and signalling devices including a locator beacon and wear appropriate clothing for the conditions.
In January 2019, less than a month after Bao and Deng’s deaths, Biao (Billy) Zheng, 40 drowned at Mangawhai Beach while swimming with his children.
Zheng was in an area outside the patrolled flags at the beach and his daughter said the waves were “big”. Zheng went missing and was found unresponsive in the water a short time later.
Coroner Katharine Greig said Zheng’s death had been “preventable”. He was not swimming between the flags and wasn’t a strong swimmer.
“It’s possible he overestimated his ability to cope in the conditions which included waves and a rip current.”
To prevent similar drownings, Surf Lifesaving New Zealand suggested swimming between flags at patrolled beaches, not overestimating your ability, not swimming alone and watching for rips.
In the past five years there have been 387 preventable drowning deaths in New Zealand, and most were Asian and Pasifika migrants.
In Auckland alone, there have been 85 preventable drownings since 2017. Of the people who died, 42 per cent were of Asian or Pacific descent – 18 each for each ethnic group.