Memorial Park fountain death: Child’s age released by the coroner

The child who drowned in a Tauranga fountain died just days before their birthday.

The age of the child who died at Memorial Park over the weekend has been released by the coroner.

The child was due to celebrate their fifth birthday today.

Coroner Matthew Bates agreed the child’s age be released this morning, according to a statement from a Ministry of Justice spokesperson.

“However, no further details are available at this stage,” the statement said.

“The coroner has opened an inquiry and requested further information to assist with that.”

Emergency services responded to a drowning report about 9.50am on Sunday and found an unresponsive child. CPR was started but the child could not be revived.

Tauranga City Council has since emptied the fountain and put temporary fencing around it.

It said in a statement on Monday that it would undertake a safety review of the fountain.

In 2002, a child nearly drowned in the fountain, sparking a proposal from council staff to reduce the depth at the centre, at a cost of $20,000. The council decided not to proceed.

According to Water Safety NZ, drowning is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5.

The organisation’s child safety programme Under Five has recorded 150 child deaths from drowning in the past 20 years.