![\"Karnin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4LCB93P_SUP260924KARNIN2b_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nKarnin Petera, 15, died during a school caving trip in 2023.
\nPhoto: SUPPLIED\n<\/p>\n
An inquest into the death of 15-year-old Karnin Petera<\/a> – who was swept away by floodwaters during a school caving trip three years ago – is due to get underway in Whang\u0101rei Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Sixteen other Whang\u0101rei Boys’ High School students and two adults on the fateful trip managed to get out as heavy rain turned the stream inside Abbey Caves into a raging torrent.<\/p>\n First to take the witness stand on Thursday would be Karnin’s parents, Alicia Toki and Andre Petera.<\/p>\n They would be followed by a MetService weather expert.<\/p>\n Other witnesses due to be called during the week-long inquest would include the outdoor education teachers who led the trip, a school Board of Trustees representative, and a health and safety manager at Whang\u0101rei District Council.<\/p>\n Coroner Alexander Ho has already laid out the questions he hopes will be answered.<\/p>\n They included whether the risks were properly identified before the caving trip, why any risks identified were not appropriately managed, and why the trip went ahead<\/a> despite forecast bad weather.<\/p>\n Coroner Ho wanted to examine the caving trip’s emergency plan, and the decision to try to exit the caves rather than seek a safe location and wait for the water to recede.<\/p>\n He also hoped to determine whether the public was sufficiently informed of the risks of entering Abbey Caves, and who was responsible for making people aware of those dangers.<\/p>\n The caves were now closed to the public and subject to a r\u0101hui by local hap\u016b.<\/p>\n