“In accordance with the wishes of Younchang’s family, a lesser, rather than a full, post-mortem examination of Younchang’s body was carried out,” Woolley explained.
“The forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem explained that drowning is a medical diagnosis of exclusion that can only be made after a full post-mortem examination has been performed.”
Ko was found to have a heart disease, which made it unclear whether his cause of death was drowning or a heart complication.
On the day of Ko’s death, he was fishing alone.
“Other people at the beach saw him fishing in knee-deep water near the mouth of the estuary at the northern end of the beach. For the next three-and-a-half hours, Younchang stood in the water fishing, and did not appear to reposition himself when the tide began to rise,” the coroner wrote.
As the tide continued to rise and the current got stronger, Ko eventually called for help.
“A person nearby responded asking Younchang if he was okay, but he did not reply. He then went under the water and did not make any attempt to swim. He was still holding his fishing rod.”
One witness called emergency services while another entered the water to try and pull Ko out, but the current was too strong.
Eventually they lost sight of the fisherman, and lifeguards from the Ōmaha Surf Lifesaving Club later found him floating face-down in the water.
“One of the attending lifeguards noted that Younchang was wearing a full wetsuit with water shoes and a hat,” the coroner detailed.
“When he was retrieved from the water, he still had a container attached to his arm, containing rope and possibly a bag of bait. He was not wearing a life jacket.”
Coroner Woolley said the case highlighted the importance of wearing a lifejacket and fishing in a group of at least two people.
“The longer a fisher can stay afloat, the more chance there is for emergency services or lifeguards to reach that person and successfully save their life. This is the single most effective measure for preventing drowning fatalities.”
– RNZ