Alpine Ice Sports Centre in Christchurch will remain closed over the weekend following the tragic death of a teenager.
Thirteen-year-old Kymani Mana Hetaraka had been skating at the centre on Tuesday morning when she fell and suffered a head injury.
On a Give A little Page her Aunt wrote “This is a parents worst nightmare – sending your child to school and to never return home.
“Her parents, brothers, sisters and whanau are devastated. Kymani was a beautiful girl only 13 years old. As this is unexpected tragedy any funds would be gratefully appreciated and will go towards preparing for what comes next.”
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In a statement sent to chrislynchmedia.com on Thursday, Alpine Ice said it was “deeply saddened to hear of Kymani’s passing. Our thoughts are with Kymani’s whanau.
“Our team and the wider skating community stand together in our shared grief following this tragedy.
Alpine will remain closed for public skating throughout the weekend.”
Source: Give A little page
Her great aunt, Joanne Tusa told chrislynchmedia.com “The Givealittle page was set up to alleviate the additional stress her parents would have to endure in the days ahead.”
“We appreciate every message of love and support that the community has given us.
There have been so many lovely messages and support, and we understand the whole of Christchurch wants to know what happened.”
WorkSafe said it had “opened an investigation into the incident at Alpine Ice in Christchurch, and extends its sympathy to the victim’s whānau.
“Students should be able to participate safely, and parents and whānau must have confidence their rangatahi will be kept safe.
Our investigation will consider the circumstances of the incident, and what policies and procedures the business had in place for risk management.”
