Go for gmail all bod7/14/2023 The big thing is this is a public area, it's a public wildlife area. We have warnings on the website, so we're always making sure people are aware of the risks. "One of the big things is we have signs there posted all the time. It was just one of those situations, which was heavy, heavy rain," he said. It was torrential rain which came down around midday. "You've heard the saying it rains and cats and dogs, well, that's basically what it was. So it is a very sombre situation."Ĭonditions were brutal in Whangārei on Tuesday with Cocurullo saying it was raining "cats and dogs". "There are people who know what's happened and they know the people in the family close by. "So most people know someone at boys high or even close to the family and even from the search and rescue team right the way through to the police and also the council staff. "One of the things you have to understand about Whangārei, it is a very close knit community, we have 100,000 people here but there is one degree of separation," Cocurullo said. Mayor Vince Cocurullo told AM on Wednesday it's a very sombre mood in Whangārei. "WorkSafe has opened an investigation into the incident, but cannot comment further while the investigation is underway." "WorkSafe has been notified of the fatality at Abbey Caves in Whangārei, and extends its sincere condolences to the whānau, school, and wider community affected by this tragedy," a WorkSafe New Zealand spokesperson said. WorkSafe confirmed to Newshub they have opened an investigation into the incident. Whangārei Boys' High School will remain open on Wednesday but a Ministry of Education traumatic incident response team will be on hand. Anyone at the school including the principal will need to answer some serious questions." "All of us locals know you do not go near these caves in any rain. "They had the weather warnings and the weather was horrible before they entered the cave," the email said. In a statement to Newshub, the family said they're deeply grateful for the help and support from search and rescuers - and they wish for their privacy to be respected.Ī parent of a year 12 student who attends Whangārei High School sent an email to AM on Wednesday morning, saying those responsible for organising the caving trip need to be "held to account". "While formal ID of the body is yet to take place, police are ensuring the family is being offered support and our thoughts remain with them at this tragic time." "This helped enable searchers to locate a body, which was successfully recovered late yesterday evening," Hill said. The search was expected to conclude at about 5pm on Tuesday but specialist equipment brought up from Auckland allowed the search to continue for longer, he said. In a statement on Wednesday morning, Northland District Commander Supt Tony Hill confirmed searchers working to locate the student found a body late on Tuesday evening. The alarm was raised just before 10:30am on Tuesday after the group, including 15 students and two adults from Whangārei Boys' High School, got into trouble in Abbey Caves in Whangārei during severe weather. A fired-up parent is calling for answers after the discovery of a Whangārei student's body who was swept away by floodwaters on a school caving trip.
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