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| Water sports firm pleads guilty to Mari-Simon Cronje death charge | Water sports firm pleads guilty to Mari-Simon Cronje death charge |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A water sports centre has pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter after an 11-year-old girl died after falling from an inflatable banana boat ride. | A water sports centre has pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter after an 11-year-old girl died after falling from an inflatable banana boat ride. |
| Mari-Simon Cronje was hit by the boat which had been towing the inflatable at the Prince's Sporting Club in Bedfont, west London, in September 2010. | Mari-Simon Cronje was hit by the boat which had been towing the inflatable at the Prince's Sporting Club in Bedfont, west London, in September 2010. |
| She fell into the water and was hit by the boat's propeller. | She fell into the water and was hit by the boat's propeller. |
| Frederick Glen Walker, a director at the firm, was cleared of any offences at Southwark Crown Court. | Frederick Glen Walker, a director at the firm, was cleared of any offences at Southwark Crown Court. |
| Mr Walker, from Cobham, Surrey had faced a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act, but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against him. | |
| 'Lax' attitude | |
| Mari-Simon was attending a children's birthday party and was part of a group riding the inflatable on a lake at the site. | Mari-Simon was attending a children's birthday party and was part of a group riding the inflatable on a lake at the site. |
| Southwark Crown Court heard that there were several health and safety failings with the club at the time of the incident. | |
| The driver, New Zealander Matthew Gibson, had no UK-recognised qualification despite having five years' experience as a ski-boat driver and staff said there was a "lax" attitude to health and safety. | |
| The court heard factors which contributed to the girl's death included the lack of an observer on the boat at the time of the incident to see if someone had fallen into the water. | |
| 'She went under' | |
| In addition, the speed of the boat, its "unnecessary" turning at tight angles and the colour of the equipment the children were wearing, which made it difficult to spot them in the water, were all contributory factors, it was claimed. | |
| The court was told how parents of some of the children were watching from picnic tables when Mari-Simon fell off. | |
| Two of the witnesses leapt into the river after failing to get Mr Gibson's attention. The driver later told police he did not see the girl come off. | |
| He said: "I turned the boat around and she went under." | |
| The 11-year-old was later pronounced dead. |