River company 'too light-hearted'

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The boyfriend of a woman who died while river boarding in New Zealand has told a court he thought the guides were too light-hearted in their approach.

Emily Jordan, 21, of Worcestershire, drowned in an accident on the Kawarau River Gorge, near Queenstown, on South Island in April 2008.

Black Sheep Adventures Ltd and company director Brad McLeod deny three charges under the health and safety act.

Miss Jordan drowned while trapped for 20 minutes between rocks in rapids.

One of the guides told the court there was nothing he could do to save her, Radio New Zealand reported.

Miss Jordan's boyfriend, Jonny Armour, who appeared by videolink from London, told the trial at Queenstown District Court that he and Miss Jordan, from Trimpley, near Bewdley, had signed a waiver form against death or injury.

He said the guides did not back it up during the briefing and, if he had known how physically challenging the trip would be, the couple would probably have not gone on it.

Mr Armour described how he stood on a river bank and realised that as time went by she must be dead.

'Unable to rescue'

Mad Dog River Boarding operations manager Nicholas Kendrick said that three guides were unable to rescue Miss Jordan because of the way she was trapped under a rock.

The guides did not carry ropes on the boat as they were a tangle hazard and deliberately tried to keep things light-hearted, he said.

He added the guides had made plans to negotiate the rock that trapped Miss Jordan and all other members of the trip had managed to avoid it.

Yesterday, the court heard prosecutor Brent Stanaway say that ropes and throwbags were widely accepted within the industry as essential rescue devices, but the company did not carry them.

He also said the company should not have taken tourists down that stretch of river because water levels were unusually low and guides had not briefed participants on how to escape if they became trapped.

The trial continues.