Coronial
QLDother

Pawuoi, Peter Chol - Non-inquest findings

Deceased

Peter Chol Pawuoi

Demographics

21y, male

Date of death

2016-12-14

Finding date

2017-03-15

Cause of death

drowning

AI-generated summary

A 21-year-old man from Sudan drowned in a mining waste facility lake after attempting to swim across it on a dare. He had minimal swimming ability and was unfamiliar with water safety. Despite warning signs stating 'no swimming', young people regularly used the site. A friend attempted a rescue but nearly drowned himself when the deceased panicked and pulled him underwater. The body was recovered the following day at 14.5 metres depth. Toxicology was negative. The death highlights risks of unauthorised access to industrial water bodies and the importance of effective warning systems and water safety awareness among young people, particularly recent migrants with limited prior exposure to water environments.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Contributing factors

  • minimal swimming ability and lack of water safety training
  • unfamiliar with Australian water environments
  • unauthorised trespass at industrial facility
  • peer pressure and dare activity
  • panic response in water leading to dangerous behaviour during rescue attempt
  • inadequate supervision or safety awareness among group
Full text

Related cases

Source and disclaimer

This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.

Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.

Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —