A SCHOOLBOY’s tragic death could have been avoided if health and safety measures were put in place by a Scottish outdoor activity company.
Kayden Walker, from Glasgow, drowned after becoming trapped during a river boogie boarding session on the River Tay, near Stanley in Perthshire, on July 28, 2019.
Outdoor Pursuits Scotland Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety legislation at Perth Sheriff Court today and was fined £10,000.
The firm's failings led to the death of Kayden, 12, after he was separated from his board while on a day trip with community group Church House.
Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Kayden was a happy, friendly, and much-loved child who enjoyed helping younger children within his church group.
“The measures Outdoor Pursuits Scotland Ltd had in place were insufficient to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of participants, and in particular non-swimmer Kayden.
“Kayden’s tragic death could have been prevented had the company ensured a safe system of work was in place to allow participants to safely negotiate the weir.
“This should serve as a warning to others who run outdoor and water activity business. A failure to manage the risk in such ventures can have devastating consequences.
“My thoughts are with Kayden’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
Kayden, whose activity consent form stated that he was unable to swim ten metres without the assistance of a flotation device, was the last child of around 15 to go over the weir between two Church House employees.
All of Outdoor Pursuit Scotland’s instructors were below the weir at that time.
The community group employees turned to face upstream after negotiating the weir but were unable to see Kayden whose board had resurfaced near them.
When realising that something was wrong, a company instructor went to the top of the weir and reached into the water where he had last seen Kayden.
He found the schoolboy an arm’s length underwater and attempted to pull him out, but the water was too powerful and prevented him from doing so. After around three and a half minutes he eventually managed to free him.
The force of the water carried Kayden down the weir where the company’s director caught him and immediately started to perform CPR.
Emergency services were contacted.
Kayden was flown to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by an air ambulance before being transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children where he sadly died the following day.
An investigation by Perth and Kinross Council found that the company’s risk assessment for river boarding did not have adequate health and safety control measures in place.
Further investigation by the Crown included taking the opinion from a water activities expert, whose view was that the company should have always had one instructor directly below and one instructor in a kayak above the weir until all the group members had successfully negotiated the rapid.
