Pinnacle College’s Ahmad Alfarhan’s words to mum before death at Browns Beach, Innes National Park
The heartbreaking last words of a boy, 16, he told his mother before his tragic death on a school trip
Ahmad Alfarhan, 16, drowned after falling into water off Browns Beach in South Australia’s Innes National Park in March 2021
A 16-year-old boy’s heartbreaking last words to his mother before he died on a school trip have been revealed.
Ahmad Alfarhan, 16, drowned after falling into the water off Browns Beach in South Australia’s Innes National Park in March 2021.
Ahmad was one of three boys who jumped into the water while visiting the park with Pinnacle College.
One of the three boys slipped off a moss-covered rock and fell into the ocean, while the other two either slipped or jumped in to help save their classmate.
Judge Miles Crawley, deputy president of the SA Employment Tribunal, said it was unclear whether Ahmad slipped or jumped into the water to save his friend.
However, police said at the time of the tragedy that he was a hero and had tried to save his partner.
While his two friends returned to shore, Ahmad’s body was swept away and was not found until the next day.
The head of the court that Ahmad had kissed his mother goodbye before traveling said, “I’ll see you in two days, don’t miss me.”
The accident happened while the students were traveling in Innes National Park (pictured), in South Australia
His mother said in a victim impact statement, “The mere memory of that day breaks my heart.”
Judge Miles Crawley, deputy president of the SA Employment Tribunal, said there could easily have been three deaths that day and that the boy who emerged from the water was lucky to have survived.
The group of seven students and two teachers had only just arrived at the park when disaster struck when they went fishing off some rocks.
Rockfish was not on the consent form given to the parents, the tribunal heard.
None of the students wore life jackets.
Pinnacle School was fined $420,000 in South Australian Employment Court on July 10 over the tragic incident
Pinnacle College was found guilty of violating health and safety laws and fined $420,000.
The school has “publicly and unreservedly apologized to Ahmad’s family,” Judge Crawley said.
A tribute to Ahmad has been built at the college and the school has hired a work, health and safety officer.
Ahmad’s death was a “tragic and needless loss of life,” said SafeWork SA executive director Glenn Farrell.