Pontoon dangerous, no warnings
A Rangiora man was among several swimmers injured after trying to climb onto a floating pontoon in Diamond Harbour.
The new 18 by 6-metre pontoon, part of the Christchurch City Council’s $3m wharf upgrade, proved an attraction to swimmer during recent hot weather.
The pontoon arrived at Lyttelton Harbour on January 23, and will be attached by a gangway to the revamped wharf where passengers board the Black Cat ferries.
It was not intended to be accessed by the public yet.
But some of those injured say there was nothing to warn of the dangers of the pontoon.
Peter Simmonds, editor of local news site The Wigram, who first reported the story, said the pontoon had no visible warning signs on Tuesday.
There was a sign on the wharf describing the upgrade project, but it does not warn people away or mention any risk.
Lindy Cai and her friend Fengsha Lu visited on Waitangi Day.
They saw about 20 adults and children on or around the pontoon and decided to try it themselves.
‘‘We tried to find a ladder, but couldn’t . . . we thought it was safe to climb on.’’
Cai said they tried to climb up, but the poles moved with a small wave, crushing their hands between the piles and a metal ring.
‘‘We screamed out in pain. All I could see was blood.
‘‘Luckily there were rescuers near us. One of them got me up to the pontoon safely, and then put me in the boat. I told him to go back and help my friend who was still in the water, so he helped her too. We were bleeding badly.’’
Their rescuers took them back to their car in Lyttleton, and Lu drove to the Christchurch Hospital emergency department. Both received stitches, and Cai remained in hospital overnight.
Neither of the women saw any warning signs on the pontoon or the wharf, she said.
Rangiora man Dave Haines was on a family day trip to Diamond Harbour on Saturday.
Haines dove in from the wharf and swam to the pontoon.
‘‘There were no ladders, no signs, no nothing. I just thought I’d climb up so I could dive back, and stuck my right hand in the wrong spot at the wrong time. With the waves coming back and forth, my hand was stuck in between the big piece of plastic and . . . up against a pole.
‘‘All I could do was just wait and watch until the next wave came along and let my finger go.’’
After dog paddling back to shore, he had to ‘‘crawl up the boat ramp like a beached whale before I could pick myself up.’’
The family waited for the next ferry back to Lyttelton, and he went to Christchurch Hospital emergency department, where, after x-rays, his finger was splinted.
‘‘It could have been worse. It could have been a bigger wave that could have blown my finger out. The amount of time it would have taken us . . . I could have lost my finger.’’
‘‘Someone shouldn’t have been able to put their hand in there. There were little kids swimming around trying to climb up.’’
Nadia Sultan’s daughter Zoe Sultan Gallo broke two fingers at the pontoon at the end of January.
Sultan said the has been ‘‘traumatised’’ by the experience, which has left her fingers blackened and swollen.
Zoe has told her mother she ‘‘heard her fingers crack’’, and has struggled with the pain and the memories since.
Sultan said neither Zoe nor her father, who was with her, saw any warning about the pontoon.
She was ‘‘infuriated’’ to learn the same thing had happened to others, and wants someone held responsible.
Christchurch City Council spokesperson Brent Smith said the council had been ‘‘made aware of some potential incidents at the pontoon’’.
He said they are ‘‘currently undertaking an investigation with the contractor to understand the extent of the injuries’’, and were ‘‘not in a position to comment further’’ while this is under way.
A council webpage says the pontoon would be attached to the wharf by ‘‘early January.’’
But Smith said delays in ‘‘procuring the aluminium gangway’’ meant it was now expected to be installed by the end of February.
On Tuesday evening, danger tape was visible on the pontoon.