Finding into death of Jennia Ieremia
Deceased
JENNINA IEREMIA
Demographics
4y, female
Date of death
2009-01-20
Finding date
2009
Cause of death
drowning
AI-generated summary
Jennina Ieremia, a 4-year-old girl with no swimming lessons, drowned at Mordialloc Beach on 20 January 2009 after wandering into the water unnoticed while her parents were distracted. She was last seen playing in shallow water but disappeared during an evening beach visit. The coroner emphasised critical lessons around child supervision at beaches, particularly for children under 5 years with limited water safety experience. Key preventable factors included inadequate parental oversight during a busy beach period, absence of operational lifesaving patrols, and the family's limited understanding of coastal hazards including rip currents. The coroner highlighted that SLSA data shows most drowning deaths occur within 1km of lifesaving services, and swimming/wading are the most dangerous activities. Better water safety education, supervision protocols, and lifesaving service coverage could have prevented this tragedy.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- inadequate supervision of young child at beach
- child had no prior swimming lessons
- limited water safety awareness in family
- lifesaving clubs not operational at time of incident
- busy beach environment with multiple distractions
- rough water conditions and strong tide
- family from migrant background with little previous swimming ability
- child wandered into water unnoticed
Coroner's recommendations
- SLSA to continue implementation of Australian Water Safety Strategy 2008-11 with focus on life stages approach for children under 5 years
- Enhanced public awareness and education regarding water safety, particularly targeting migrant families with limited swimming experience
- Improved supervision protocols and education for families visiting beaches
- Review of lifesaving service coverage and volunteer patrol scheduling to ensure adequate presence during peak beach usage periods
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