Child suffers head injury in climbing wall mishap

Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A boy has been seriously injured in a fall at an indoor climbing facility in Auckland.

He was taken to the Starship children's hospital after the accident at Clip'N Climb on Friday evening in which he is said to have ascended a climb without having his connection to the rope checked by an adult.

The St John ambulance service said last night that the boy, aged about 10, was in a serious condition when taken to hospital with injuries to his head and an arm.

Gavin Harris, the operations manager of the climbing venue on Dominion Rd in Balmoral, said he did not know how far the boy fell.

"It was a decent fall but he's all right. It's not life-threatening."

"We're devastated that it's happened," said Mr Harris. "We have thousands of kids through there a year. Safety is paramount in our industry. ... Safety is paramount at Clip'N Climb."

He said the accident resulted from a breach of procedure, rather than any mechanical failure.

Clients are given a safety briefing before they start climbing. Children under 13 are told to obtain approval - before starting each climb - from an adult who must verify the child is correctly attached to the rope and safety line.

The climbers wear a harness. For each climb, the harness is attached by a locking carabiner to one end of the climbing rope and to a webbing safety line. The rope, which runs to the top of the climb and back to the floor, is controlled by a "self-belay" machine that takes in rope as the climber ascends, and feeds it out as they descend.

"There's a sign on the wall at eye level that says, 'Don't climb until you're checked'," Mr Harris said.

"Children are instructed how to clip. We spend 15 minutes with them, and adults, at the start of the session. We check as they go through. By the time the session comes to an end, the kids are generally very thorough with their checking; parents are very thorough.In this case the child didn't follow the procedure and climbed unchecked."

The Labour Department said it had been notified and was making initial inquiries about the accident "to determine what follow-up action is appropriate".

Clip'N Climb facilities operate in Auckland, Christchurch and Wanaka.