Tasmanian company charged over jumping castle deaths at a Tasmanian school in 2021
Six children were killed in 2021 when an inflatable bouncy castle was lifted into the air by strong winds at an end of year school event in Tasmania.
A Tasmanian company has been charged over an incident in which six Tasmanian schoolchildren were killed when the bouncy castle they were playing in was picked up by freak winds.
It happened at Hillcrest Primary School, in the state’s north, during an end of school year event in 2021.
The company, Taz-Zorb, has been charged with allegedly failing to comply with a health and safety duty in a way that exposed the children to a risk of death or serious injury.
Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed the charges in Davenport Magistrates Court on Friday, and said the charges have come about after a lengthy investigation carried out by WorkSafe Tasmania.
“A large number of documents have been prepared and considered by the investigators and the DPP in order to reach this decision,” DPP Daryl Coates said in a statement.
“Throughout the last year I have continued to meet with the families of the children who died or were injured in this incident and would again like to express my condolences to each of them.”
He added there will be no further comment while the matter is before the courts.
It’s not yet know when Taz-Zorb will have to front court.
The charge is a category 2 offence under the Work Health and Safety Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $1.5m in fines for a corporation, or a $150,000 fine for an individual.
Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, and Chace Harrison, all Year 5 or 6 students at Hillcrest Primary, were killed after being flung about 10m into the air while inside the inflatable bounce house on December 16, 2021.
Three other students were badly injured but survived after spending days in hospital.
A joint statement on behalf of the children’s families has been released.
“This was a terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of our beautiful children and which has left others both physically and emotionally impacted,” the statement reads.
“We know WorkSafe has worked tirelessly in their investigation into what went wrong on that fateful day and we thank them for their hard work.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the first responders and medical staff who took care of our children. We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the incredibly brave children who ran to the assistance of their injured friends and classmates.”
WorkSafe Tasmania executive director Robyn Pearce said the investigation was “significant.”
“A large number of documents have been prepared and considered by the investigators and the DPP in order to reach this decision,” Ms Pearce said in a statement.
She also extended condolences to the families of the children killed, as well as those who survived, whom she has met with repeatedly since the incident.
Zane Mellor’s mother Georgie Burt has told the ABC she was “just so unbelievably sad that this is the outcome of the investigation.”
“My heart breaks. Our children really were never given a chance to survive,” she said.
“I am glad that Taz-Zorb have been charged. I want justice for my son and the other families impacted and look forward to hearing the outcome of the criminal proceedings and subsequent coronial inquest,” she said.
“I still want answers about the school’s involvement in the tragedy. It has been a long-time coming and still not over.”
A coronial inquest into the incident is yet to be held, after a Tasmanian court ruled it wasn’t allowed to proceed until the coroner was handed the WorkSafe report into the bounce house crash.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart previously said the inquest would commence “as soon as any prosecution has been completed.”