Hunt, Thomas and Kim, Youngeun
Deceased
Thomas Hunt and Youngeun Kim
Demographics
unknown
Date of death
2016-02-23
Finding date
2019-10-18
Cause of death
drowning (Thomas Hunt); drowning/immersion with head injury (Youngeun Kim)
AI-generated summary
Two young international visitors died by drowning at Josephine Falls in Queensland's wet tropics, separated by two years. Both were swept away by rapidly rising floodwaters in Bottom Pool after heavy rainfall in the Mount Bartle Frere catchment. Clinically and organizationally, key failures included: insufficient warning systems (neither victim appreciated the rapid water level rise); communication barriers (mobile phone blackspot prevented timely emergency calls, and the victim with limited swimming ability may not have understood warning signage); inadequate initial emergency response timing (Ms Kim's companions delayed calling for over 90 minutes, and even then emergency services arrived after water levels had become critically dangerous); and insufficient trained swift water rescue personnel on-site. The coroner emphasized that improved electronic water monitoring systems, mobile phone coverage, and maintained inter-agency coordination are essential. Crucially, visitors must appreciate that sudden flooding can occur in minutes during monsoonal weather, and both medical and public health professionals should counsel travelers on hazards of remote waterway swimming.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- rapidly rising floodwaters from heavy rainfall in Mount Bartle Frere catchment
- insufficient warning systems at time of deaths
- inadequate signage comprehension by international visitors
- mobile phone blackspot preventing timely emergency notification
- delayed emergency service call (over 90 minutes for Ms Kim)
- insufficient number of trained swift water rescue personnel on initial response
- limited swimming ability of one victim
- lack of understanding of danger of rapidly changing water conditions
Coroner's recommendations
- Department of Communications and the Arts (Commonwealth) give priority to funding applications by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to eliminate mobile phone blackspot issues affecting mobile phone communications at Josephine Falls
- Department of Environment and Science continue to fund development and maintenance of water monitoring and alarm system at Mount Bartle Frere and Josephine Falls
- Interagency working group comprising Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service continue to be supported financially and administratively, and be enlarged to include local Ngadjon-ji Elders to enable continuation of education programs, training exercises, and recommendations for enhancement of visitor safety
- Copy of findings be provided to local tour and travel companies operating at Josephine Falls
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