Schoolboy Found Dead in New Zealand’s Abbey Caves Complex

Wellington –

Police New Zealand found the body of a schoolboy in a cave that is in the famous Abbey Coves complex. The schoolboy was reportedly killed tragically while on a visit to the cave with his teacher and other schoolmates.

As reported AFPWednesday (10/5/2023), the boy who was not identified was visiting the Abbey Caves complex in Auckland the north on Tuesday (9/5) local time, when he and his classmates “dealed with a very bad weather event”.

After searching all day in the middle bad weather, the local police announced that a body had been found on Tuesday (9/5) midnight. The boy’s family is receiving support amid the sad news while the official identification process is underway.

“Our thoughts are with them at this tragic time,” said Northland Police Superintendent Tony Hill.

Local residents left flowers at the cave complex, which was still cordoned off by police on Wednesday (10/5) local time.

“I think it’s every parent’s nightmare to send your child to school in the morning and not find them home safely at night,” said the Prime Minister (PM) Chris Hipkins in a statement quoted by the newspaper New Zealand Herald.

Many questions have been raised about why teachers brought more than a dozen children aged 15-16 from Whangarei Boys’ High School to an area that is very prone to flash floods.

The area received about 13 cm of rain on the day of the school visit and extensive flooding was reported in the area.

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(nvc/ita)