Elim College mourns

The death of six students and a teacher from Elim Christian College is a tragedy which will rest heavy on all those who knew them.

When I was 15, two of my classmates died in a car crash, along with the mother one one of them.  We were all stunned and and took months for life to get back to normal. And even to this day, I often think sadly of them, and the future they never got to have.

Havng seven die in one accident is almost unthinkable, and the sense of loss and sadness for their family and friends must be almost unbearable. I am reminded of some words of wisdom that death and loss only hurts so much because of our capacity for unselfish love and friendship.

Inevitably there will be a focus on how preventable was this. I don’t think today is the time to debate this, but I do note from Stuff:

Outdoor Pursuits Centre chief executive Grant Davidson told TV3 News the water flow in the gorge rose from 0.5 cubic metres per second (cumecs) at 3pm to 18 cumecs at 3.30pm – “the equivalent to the Tongariro River going down a small stream” – before dropping back to 0.5 cumecs by 6pm.

“When they entered the gorge the water was at very low level and there was no prediction for heavy rain,” he said.

That is a mighty big change for half an hour.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the students and teacher, and the whole Elim College community.