A coroner says a young girl s death on the West Coast is a tragic reminder of the dangers of river mouths
A coroner says a young girl s death on the West Coast is a tragic reminder of the dangers of river mouths 14 May 2021
Emily Branje was swept out to sea as she watched her grandfather whitebaiting at Hokitika River in 2019.
The life-jackets were in the car because her grandfather thought the water wasn t rough.
Witnesses say the nine-year-old tried to swim on her back after being knocked off her feet by a large swell.
Coroner Sue Johnson ruled the Rolleston girl s drowning accidental, but says she would ve had more chance of surviving if she d been wearing a life-jacket.
In findings released on Friday, coroner Sue Johnson ruled Branje’s death an accidental drowning. She avoided making any direct recommendations, but said Emily “would have had a chance of survival” if she had been wearing a life jacket.
Supplied
Emily and her mother Janine Branje. Emily’s mother, Janine Branje, had read the coroner’s report, and said she was happy to learn her daughter remembered all her water safety lessons. “I was pleased to read she did absolutely everything she was taught to do, she flipped onto her back, she kicked off her gumboots. “As her mum, I’m extremely proud of my daughter, that she remembered all that. A lot of adults wouldn’t have known what to do, but she did.”
Emily Branje.
Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Emily Branje was swept out to sea on 26 September, 2019 while watching her step-grandfather whitebaiting on the Hokitika River mouth on the West Coast.
Her body was found on 28 September in the sea at Cobden Tiphead near Greymouth.
At the time of the accident, Emily had been staying with her stepfather s parents on the West Coast.
The coroner s findings say her step-grandfather, Raymond Baxter, went whitebaiting regularly at the mouth of the Hokitika River, and Emily wanted to go with him.
Baxter told police that Emily had wanted to come whitebaiting with him all week, but the weather had not been suitable. On 26 September he decided that Emily could join him for the first time.