Source: Radio New Zealand
Karnin Petera, 15, died during a school caving trip in 2023. SUPPLIED
An inquest into the death of 15-year-old Karnin Petera – who was swept away by floodwaters during a school caving trip three years ago – is due to get underway in Whangārei Thursday morning.
Sixteen other Whangārei Boys’ High School students and two adults on the fateful trip managed to get out as heavy rain turned the stream inside Abbey Caves into a raging torrent.
First to take the witness stand on Thursday would be Karnin’s parents, Alicia Toki and Andre Petera.
They would be followed by a MetService weather expert.
Other witnesses due to be called during the week-long inquest would include the outdoor education teachers who led the trip, a school Board of Trustees representative, and a health and safety manager at Whangārei District Council.
Coroner Alexander Ho has already laid out the questions he hopes will be answered.
They included whether the risks were properly identified before the caving trip, why any risks identified were not appropriately managed, and why the trip went ahead despite forecast bad weather.
Coroner Ho wanted to examine the caving trip’s emergency plan, and the decision to try to exit the caves rather than seek a safe location and wait for the water to recede.
He also hoped to determine whether the public was sufficiently informed of the risks of entering Abbey Caves, and who was responsible for making people aware of those dangers.
The caves were now closed to the public and subject to a rāhui by local hapū.
In a WorkSafe prosecution in September 2024, Whangārei Boys’ High School was ordered to pay a total of $500,000 in reparations to Karnin’s parents, the 16 other boys on the trip, a teacher and an outdoor education contractor.
The school was to have been fined $300,000 – reduced from the initial $600,000 due to the early guilty plea and other factors – but that was remitted because the school board was unable to pay.
There were also concerns for the effects on students still at the school if the fine had been imposed.
During sentencing grieving relatives told the court that Karnin, who was in Year 11, was given the nickname “Tino” because of his enthusiastic embrace of life.
They also spoke of his love of all water sports, his ability in te reo and inner confidence that came from knowing his whakapapa, and the way he could “light up a room with his smile”.
The inquest is taking place in the Whangārei courthouse.
Saturday 9 May would be the third anniversary of Karnin’s death.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
