Shotover River accident: Drowned man was a metre from safety

Detective Senior Constable Joshua Paroci died just metres from being rescued Photo / Supplied

An Australian detective who drowned during a rafting trip on the Shotover River was only about a metre from being pulled to safety when he lost grip of a safety rope.

Joshua Paroci, 31, of Sydney, drowned in the “toilet” rapids in Skippers Canyon on May 19, 2018, during a trip to Queenstown with five friends.

In her findings released today, coroner Heather McKenzie said Paroci’s group was on one of three rafts on the Queenstown Rafting trip when it flipped over.

Although his five friends were retrieved, Paroci began experiencing difficulty after a safety rope was thrown at him.

As he was pulled to the river bank, he let go of the rope about a metre from safety and floated downstream.

A guide in a safety kayak went to his assistance, and although Paroci was initially able to hold on to the kayak’s hand grips, he again let go.

Detective Senior Constable Joshua Paroci, aged 31, died following a rafting incident in Queenstown, New Zealand on 19 May 2018. Photo / NSW Police

The guide held on to his lifejacket, and with help from three other guides, Paroci was taken to the river bank.

Attempts to revive him with CPR and a defibrillator continued for 45 minutes until the arrival of the first of two rescue helicopters at about 5pm, but paramedics declared him dead about 10 minutes later.

Following a post mortem, a pathologist found the cause of death to be drowning but noted the presence of hypertension and angina medication in his blood.

That prompted a second opinion to be sought from another pathologist, who concluded it was “possible but not probable” the cause of death was a cardiac disease or impairment by cardiac disease leading to drowning.

A report by Paroci’s GP said he had been treated for hypertension since 2014, had “longstanding obesity” and a family history of heart disease, hypertension and high cholesterol.

One of the pathologists said Paroci’s 124kg weight meant the prolonged effort needed to maintain a grip on the rope and kayak while in strong rapids would have been “probably very considerable indeed”.

The effects of cold hands, inhaling water and a potential cardiac event were other possible contributing factors.

An investigation by Maritime New Zealand concluded Queenstown Rafting worked to “very high standards” in its industry, and its guides had followed correct procedures from when the raft flipped until the helicopter paramedics arrived.

McKenzie said multiple safety briefings were given before and during the trip, and participants had to declare any medical conditions or medications on a waiver form.

“The nature of the trip is that it is an adventure activity which is very physical, especially when passing through serious rapids and then if a client comes out of the raft into the river.”

Paroci’s death was an accident, and no party was to blame, she said.

She did not consider any recommendations to be appropriate, noting Queenstown Rafting had made changes to its operations since the tragedy, including filming its trips with GoPro cameras, installing extra safety lines in rapid areas and limiting the weight of clients to 120kg.