KEY POINTS:
The families that suffered the devastating loss of the Totara Reserve tragedy want to thank the community and country for the outpouring of support and sympathy.
Michael Liengme, 13, and brother and sister Callum, 10, and Keryn Langley, 8, were killed. Michael's younger brother Kevin, 10, who was also in the river at the time, survived with minor injuries.
The Langleys, who live in Palmerston North, and the Liengmes, from Feilding, have spent much of the time since the accident last Friday together, coping with their grief and preparing for a joint funeral service to be held in Palmerston North on Friday.
The service will be held at the St Albans Presbyterian Church.
The Liengmes and Langleys are close friends and emigrated to New Zealand three years ago from their South African hometown in the Natal province.
The families have been inundated with gifts and condolences, but have been too upset to speak publicly. They have called a press conference today to convey their gratitude for the support they have received, but remain traumatised by the accident and will not talk about the events that unfolded on Friday.
The parents were watching as a cliff collapsed while their children played in a river at the reserve, 30km from Palmerston North.
Duncan Liengme reportedly saw the first signs of trouble and shouted to the children to run, but they were unable to move in time.
Yesterday, schoolmates of the Langley and Liengme children returned to the classroom for the first time to confront the loss.
Staff at Russell St Primary School, which the Langley children attended, held a special meeting to acknowledge the loss.
"Teachers spoke with their respective classes and prepared a statement for the children," said Carla Na Nagara, the chair of the school's board of trustees.
"We got on with the day and had extra support staff in class. The children seemed settled and at ease.
"It was being talked about, but in a positive way. The school day went really well. The staff and the students coped brilliantly."
'Don't swim' signs up today
Warning signs will be put up today on the section of the Pohangina River where the three children died in the landslide, and the eroding cliff will be tested for stability.
Representatives from the Manawatu District Council, the Horizons Regional Council and the police met in Feilding yesterday to discuss safety provisions for the area.
District council chief executive Rod Titcombe said a sign discouraging swimmers would go up opposite the cliff today and a fence would also be built.
Mr Titcombe said those at the meeting also agreed to commission a geotechnical report of the cliff face so any immediate danger could be identified.
The Totara Reserve camping ground will be closed until at least after Friday's funeral service for the children.
"Both councils are saddened by this tragic event that has taken the lives of three young children and, in terms of reopening the facilities at Totara Reserve, we are sensitive to the wishes of the families," he said.
Manawatu Mayor Ian McKelvie said there was another area further along the river where people could camp in the meantime, but it didn't have access to power.
He said those involved in the accident were extremely unlucky and it was a difficult situation to avoid.
"I think it's just one of those horrible things that happens in life," he told National Radio, "and I don't think there is anything that could be done."
- NZPA
