This article was first published by RNZ.
A 13-year-old girl who fell and hit her head while ice-skating on a school outing has died.
Kymani Hiley-Hetaraka suffered an unsurvivable head injury after falling at Alpine Ice Sports Centre in Christchurch on Tuesday.
She was taken to hospital in a critical condition following the fall.
Kymani was ice-skating with her school, Haeata Community Campus.
The school’s principal Dr Peggy Burrows this morning confirmed Kymani had died from her injuries.
“Kua whetūrangitia koe. Return, take your place amongst the stars along with your ancestors,” Burrows said on social media.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Kymani Hiley-Hetaraka, a beloved member of our school community. Kymani was a vibrant and cherished ākonga who touched the lives of many with her kindness, aroha and beautiful spirit.
“It is important at this time that we support each other and take care of each other. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hiley-Hetaraka whānau at this time.”
A social media post by a family member said: “It is with heavy broken hearts that we would like to let our Whānau Hetaraka and friends know of the tragic passing of our taonga Kymani Mana Hetaraka age 13 in Christchurch.”
Alpine Ice Sports Centre closed out of respect to Kymani and her whānau on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Alpine’s staff, management and directors, alongside our wider skating community are heartbroken to learn from media reports that Kymani’s injuries are not survivable. Our thoughts are with Kymani’s whanau at this unimaginable time,” the company said on Wednesday.
WorkSafe has opened an investigation. “Students should be able to participate safely, and parents and whānau must have confidence their rangatahi will be kept safe,” it said in a statement.
“Our investigation will consider the circumstances of the incident, and what policies and procedures the business had in place for risk management.”
- RNZ