Coronial inquest into deaths of children in Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy delayed
An inquest into the deaths of six school children killed when a jumping castle was lifted into the air has been delayed until 2022.
Families hoping for an explanation after six primary school children died at a school event in northern Tasmania will have to wait at least six months for the coronial inquest, a court heard.
The six children were killed on December 16, 2021 when a jumping castle was lifted into the air by a “mini-tornado” and reached a “great height” before plummeting to the ground.
On Tuesday, Devonport Magistrates Court heard five children died as a result of injuries sustained when they were thrown about in the jumping castle, while a sixth is believed to have died after being struck in the head by an attachment to the airborne inflatable.
The children, aged between 11 and 12, had been celebrating the last day of the school year at Hillcrest Primary School with 33 of their classmates when tragedy struck.
Counsel assisting the coroner Leigh Mackey told the court the year five and six students were being supervised by teachers and staff at 10am when a sudden and powerful wind hit the oval.
“The event could be described as a mini-tornado, a wind devil or similar. It appears to have been powerful and concentrated,” she said.
Seven children were on the jumping castle when it was lifted to a “great height” and they all fell as the inflatable “was subject to the swirling force of the wind”. Only two survived the fall.
Three students were also inside Zorb balls when they were picked up by the wind and thrown around. The court heard they survived with “varying degrees of injury”.
Ms Mackey said the co-ordinated investigation to gather necessary evidence has been “intensive and significant”.
The inquest will rely on 38 records of video interviews with children at the school, as well as affidavits from families, witnesses, first responders, as well as staff of the inflatable amusement company TasZorb.
The large volume of evidence also includes transcripts of the relevant triple 0 calls and photographs and videos of the scene.
Ms Mackey told the court the coroner was waiting on an outstanding report from a weather expert and another from WorkSafe Tasmania, which has been investigating the “methods and efficacy of tethering” the jumping castle.
“It is understood the duration of the investigation is not the product of unnecessary delay, but is the result of the complexity of this matter, the regulatory implications of it and the need for external input,” she said.
The counsel assisting the coroner told the court the large quantity of evidence and the complicated nature of the matter meant the coronial inquest would not start before next year.
“Realistically, the inquest will not be heard within the next six months,” she said.
Despite the delay, Coroner Olivia McTaggart said Tuesday’s case management conference marked the first step in launching an inquest into the “sudden and catastrophic event”.
She expressed her sympathy to those affected by the tragedy, including the children who survived, teachers and first responders.
“I recognise that this event and the deaths of the children has greatly affected so many people,” the coroner sympathised.
“It’s an event that has touched and saddened the whole Devonport community and it’s had such an impact on Tasmania as a whole.”
Ms McTaggart emphasised the importance of holding a public and transparent inquest to understand how the children died and whether anything can be learned from the tragic event. She warned families that they would hear confronting evidence when the inquest began.
The court heard it was necessary to gather all the evidence before an inquest could be held into the six deaths.
“A great deal of work has been undertaken in the previous months,” Ms McTaggart said.
“I am hoping the crucial expert reports … will be available to all in the not-too-distant future.”
The coroner said another case management conference will be held before details of the coronial inquest are announced.
The courtroom was overflowing with families of children who died, lawyers for next of kin, and representatives from the inflatable company TasZorb, WorkSafe Tasmania, and Tasmania’s education department.
The department had banned inflatable equipment from being used at school events in the aftermath of the tragic incident.