Auckland, August 25: Queenstown River Boarding company Mad Dog has been fined $66,000 over the death of 21-year-old English tourist Emily Jordan.
It’s also been ordered to pay $80,000 dollars reparations to her family.
Maritime New Zealand Investigations Manager, Steve van der Splinter, says the conviction is a wake up call to all others in the white water industry.
“Health and safety legislation is there for a good reason – to safeguard people’s lives,” Van der Splinter says.
Mad Dog River Boarding on Monday admitted two charges laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act laid after Jordan drowned after becoming trapped against a rock in the Kawarau River.
Emily Jordan, 21, drowned while river boarding in the Kawarau River Gorge in April last year.
She was trapped under a rock underwater for 20 minutes while her boyfriend watched from the riverbank.
The company and its director Brad McLeod were facing three charges each of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of their customers, employees and other clients, brought under the Health and Safety in Employment Act.
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Three charges against McLeod and one against the company were dropped on Monday, and the company pleaded guilty to the remaining two charges.
The court was told last week that Mad Dog guides carried no ropes and the company’s safety plan was not up to industry standards.
Guides from another river boarding company retrieved Jordan’s body within minutes, using rescue ropes.
Jordan’s father Chris Jordan travelled from England last week to attend the hearing.
–Agencies–