Warning sign too late for fatal leap

A sign warning people not to jump off a 15m cliff face into Lake Karapiro came too late for a British doctor.

Police divers found the body of John William Fasham in the lake near Cambridge yesterday afternoon, a Waikato police spokeswoman said. The death had been referred to the coroner.

As the divers searched yesterday, Waipa District Council was notified that a steel-reinforced warning sign was ready, to be put up to replace recently stolen ones.

Dr Fasham, 25, had been working at Waikato Hospital as a secondary house surgeon since last August.

He jumped off the cliff face on Sunday afternoon. Two other doctors with him went into the water to try to find him, but were unable to.

Dr Fasham had been due to leave New Zealand in nine days to travel back to his home in Cambridgeshire, a Waikato District Health Board spokeswoman said.

"Staff at the hospital are deeply saddened. Dr Fasham will be greatly missed."

A council spokesman said vandals had damaged and stolen four other signs warning people not to jump from the cliff face into the lake near a popular boat ramp called Keely's Landing.

The signs had been put up since last March after a coroner's report into the death of a 27-year-old Korean student who died after jumping from the cliff face in December 2003.

The latest sign to be put up was reported missing last week.

The council had recently launched a safety campaign after continued vandalism of warning signs, public amenities and fenced off areas at the lake.

Council spokesman Wayne Green said vandalism was an increasing source of frustration to the council.

"The council is adamant that prosecutions will follow if vandals are caught. The potential is there for serious injury and loss of life ...

"The fence had recently been cut and only repaired last week. The signs had been stolen. We have a new sign ready to go up," he said.

"Vandals put lives at risk."

Environmental safety manager Jenny McFarlane said the council was shocked by the tragedy. There would be an Occupational Safety and Health investigation.

The council had been notified the new sign was ready yesterday morning, shortly before it was told of Sunday's incident.

"Like other councils, we have an ongoing battle with vandalism of fencing and warning signs in public reserves," Ms McFarlane said.

"We had been focusing attention on the area around Keely's Landing in recent weeks because of the amount of vandalism.

"It is a dangerous area. It is a fair height to fall into the water. Even though the lake is up to 20m deep at that point, it's like hitting concrete if you fall badly."

The council would be doing some soul searching over the tragedy - whether to accept that people would jump from the spot and to build a ladder up the rocks to assist people getting out, or to continue discouraging would-be jumpers.

There were no guarantees the new sign would stay in place. "Vandals are very determined."

- NZPA