Teacher describes fight for life as water rose to neck height in 10 seconds at Abbey Caves

Key facts

• Karnin Petera, 15, died on a Whangārei Boys’ High School caving trip to Abbey Caves on May 9, 2023.
• Northland was under a severe heavy rain warning at the time of the trip.
• Water in Organ Cave rose from 7.5cm to neck height in 10 seconds, according to a teacher.
• Sixteen other students and two adults escaped the cave alive.
• The school Board of Trustees paid more than $500,000 in reparations after a WorkSafe prosecution.
• The inquest is being conducted by Coroner Alexander Ho at the Whangārei District Court.
• The caves are now closed to the public and subject to a rāhui by local hapū.

A teacher’s desperate battle to save students

A teacher who led the caving trip to Abbey Caves has described the moment he thought he was going to die while trying to save students. Speaking publicly for the first time at the inquest into Karnin Petera’s death, the teacher said water inside Organ Cave rose from about 7.5 centimetres to neck height within 10 seconds, pulling him under as he fought for air. “I was pinned against the rock with the water holding me in place. I had one hand free which I could use to help the students,” he told the court. He tried to block the river flow with his body to stop students being swept past, grabbing one boy as he began to go under. The teacher managed to get the students out, at one stage floating a boy over his own body and pulling another out of the fast-flowing water. “The water was now pulling very hard and I started feeling the water lapping over my face,” he said.

The decision to proceed despite an orange heavy rain warning

A staff member whose name is subject to an interim non-publication order told the inquest he was “certain” the band of heavy rain would not arrive in Whangārei until around 3pm, hours after the boys were due to leave the cave. The trip was scheduled to start half an hour earlier than usual and was limited to Organ Cave only, so the group would be out by noon instead of the usual 2.30pm. The staff member said he had explored the caves many times and had never known Organ Cave to flood. He knew the two other, narrower caves — Middle Cave and Ivy Cave — could flood because he had seen leaves stuck to the ceilings after rain. He based his confidence on three-day MetService regional forecasts and hourly local forecasts, which had not changed between Sunday and the fateful Tuesday morning. He knew about the Northland-wide orange heavy rain warning, issued the previous day, but was convinced that was connected with the “gnarly” band of rain he expected around 3pm.

MetService evidence and changing understanding of risk

After hearing MetService evidence on Friday, the staff member now accepted that a severe weather warning could mean “anything could happen at any time”. The inquest has heard that the organisers were watching the rain radar and believed heavy rain was due later in the day. Coroner Alexander Ho has laid out the questions he hopes will be answered: whether the risks were properly identified before the trip, why any risks identified were not appropriately managed, and why the trip went ahead despite forecasted bad weather. He also wants to examine the caving trip’s emergency plan, the decision to try to exit the caves rather than seek a safe location and wait for the water to recede, and whether the public was sufficiently informed of the risks of entering Abbey Caves.

The tragedy and its aftermath

Karnin Petera, 15, died during the Whangārei Boys’ High School trip to Abbey Caves in May 2023. An underground creek turned into a raging torrent during heavy rain, trapping the group. Sixteen other boys and two adults managed to get out alive. In a WorkSafe prosecution in September 2024, the school was ordered to pay a total of $500,000 in reparations to Karnin’s parents, the 16 other boys on the trip, a teacher and an outdoor education contractor. The school was to have been fined $300,000 — reduced from an initial $600,000 due to an early guilty plea and other factors — but that was remitted because the school board was unable to pay. There were also concerns for the effects on students still at the school if the fine had been imposed. The caves are now closed to the public and subject to a rāhui by local hapū.

Witnesses and the path forward

The week-long inquest, being conducted by Coroner Alexander Ho at the Whangārei District Court, began with testimony from Karnin’s parents, Alicia Toki and Andre Petera. They were followed by a MetService weather expert. Other witnesses due to be called include the outdoor education teachers who led the trip, a school Board of Trustees representative, and a health and safety manager at Whangārei District Council. The inquest aims to determine responsibility for the tragedy and to prevent future deaths. The staff member’s admission that he now understands a severe weather warning can mean “anything could happen at any time” underscores a critical shift in awareness — one that came too late for Karnin Petera.

The bottom line

• A teacher described water rising from 7.5cm to neck height in 10 seconds; he feared for his life while rescuing students.
• The trip went ahead despite an orange heavy rain warning because staff were certain rain would not hit until after the scheduled exit.
• The staff member had never seen Organ Cave flood, though he knew other caves could flood after rain.
• The school paid $500,000 in reparations; a $300,000 fine was remitted due to the board’s inability to pay.
• The inquest is examining risk identification, management, the decision to proceed, and the emergency plan.
• Abbey Caves are now closed to the public and under a rāhui.