'It wasn't instructor's fault'

Jodie Sullivan a guide with the Outdoor Pursuits Centre near Turangi. Photo / from Jodie Sullivan's Facebook page

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A survivor of the Mangatepopo River tragedy, a grieving father and a local river expert have said the instructor leading the ill-fated party should not be blamed for the seven deaths.

Elim Christian College student Sarah Brooks, 15, said yesterday it was not Jodie Sullivan's fault the six students and teacher Tony McClean died.

Mr McClean's father, John, said the instructor had done all she could in the river. "In that moment she saved four of those kids."

He said he had respect for her.

Mr McClean said he and his wife had travelled to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre and met Miss Sullivan.

"In the morning she was absolutely distraught. We just hugged her and bawled our eyes out for about 15 minutes."

Tyronne "Bubs" Smith, the river expert used as a police adviser during the search, also said "no fault" could be placed on Miss Sullivan or the centre. However, Mr Smith, who is a Department of Conservation ranger and local Maori leader, said he personally would not have gone in the river for fear of flash flooding.

"It was one of those days where systems don't work," he told the Herald. "In looking for blame, we may be asking questions we aren't going to get answers for."

Yesterday, more details of the drama emerged when Sarah Brooks told the Herald that once the water began rising, the plan was to swim a short distance to the safety of the riverbank.

"It was just a little way down and it looked easy when everyone else was doing it."

But when it was Sarah's turn to enter the water she found it was not as easy as it looked. She was getting "dunked under", lost her boots and was getting "quite panicked".

"I forgot to paddle like we were supposed to but [the instructor] was there with the rope so I didn't really worry," Sarah said. "She threw the rope to me but it fell short and I completely missed it. It wasn't her fault."

Sarah said the students were "freaked out" before they leaped into the rushing water, but she thought everything would be okay.

Mr McClean "told me to be strong and brave" and the group sang silly songs to keep themselves upbeat.

Fellow student Kish Proctor, who went first, said the group had cheered him on as he went into the swollen torrent. "Our teacher Mr McClean was telling us, `Guys, if it goes any higher we are going to have to float across' ... and the instructor would catch us and get us."

The 15-year-old said he rounded a bend in the river to find he was about 7m away from the instructor. There was no way she could have got him.

Sarah was second to last. She tried to grab on to the wall across the dam but missed that and went over the dam, hitting the rocks on the other side and getting sucked under.

As she tried to get to the surface she fell over a ledge just down from the dam.

"I felt my face get smashed against a rock. I grabbed a branch and shouted for help because I saw one of the instructors. I was wedged between rocks and I felt myself sliding away again and I prayed to God.

"I slipped again but I fell into a shallow bit and stood up."

Sarah then had to walk back up the left side of the river in her socks until she was able to get out.

"I thought everyone else was up there too but they weren't."

Sarah and Kish were the only two to survive after being swept over the Mangatepopo Dam. Two other students survived who hadn't been swept over the dam.

Sarah's mother, Jeanette Brooks, wasn't immediately aware that her daughter was one of those in the river, having heard on the news that a group had been swept away.

It was an hour and a half before they heard that Sarah was safe.

Meanwhile, Mr Smith said he wanted the outdoor pursuits centre to continue taking students through the gorge and would advise any reviews that it should not be closed down.

"I know the value of what they are teaching the kids in that gorge. It is a beautiful experience."