The tragic drowning of 2-year-old Ranger Hetaraka at the Napier Aquatic Centre in December was determined to have been preventable, according to an investigation by Coroner Erin Woolley. Ranger was found floating face down in a pool and later died from complications of drowning. The coroner concluded that his death could have been avoided if his parents had been actively supervising him, emphasizing that lifeguards are not substitutes for close parental oversight.
During the event, Ranger was briefly unsupervised while playing with another child. Lifeguards intervened twice to prevent him from entering a deeper pool, but moments later, he was found in the learners’ pool struggling to stay afloat. CCTV footage revealed there were multiple people around the area, but no immediate family member was closely monitoring Ranger.
Coroner Woolley stressed the importance of constant adult supervision for toddlers around water to prevent such incidents. Following the death, Napier Aquatic Centre implemented new safety measures, including additional CCTV cameras, improved signage, and a stricter policy requiring children to be removed from the pool if found unsupervised after a warning.
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