2 Mar 2013

Dunedin school to review beach trip safety

3:37 pm on 2 March 2013

A Dunedin school is to review whether to continue taking students to an unpatrolled beach after a teenage girl almost drowned while on a school trip.

The Year 9 students from Columba College were at the beach in the Goat Island area when they got into trouble while swimming at about 2pm on Friday.

About a dozen students were dragged out by a rip and were rescued by surfers and surf lifesavers.

One girl was underwater for a period of time and almost drowned. She remained in Dunedin Hospital overnight on Friday and was expected to be discharged on Saturday.

Six other people taken to hospital by helicopter or ambulance suffering from water inhalation and hypothermia have since been released.

More than 80 students and 25 caregivers were on the school trip, an event the school said it has been running for more than 10 years.

Chair of Columba College's board of trustees, Tony Sycamore, said the students were very lucky to escape without serious harm and the school will be reviewing the events carefully.

Surf Life Saving spokesperson Mark Weatherall said the trip could have ended in tragedy had lifeguards not by chance been close to the beach.

He said lifesavers were training for a competition and it was very lucky they had three boats nearby or else there could have been deaths.