Adelaide Pinnacle College fined over teen Ahmad Alfarhans drowning death

A teenager who drowned on a school excursion to one of Australia’s most dangerous rock fishing sports was not given a life jacket, a tribunal has been told.

Adelaide's Pinnacle College student Ahmad Alfarhan, 16, drowned at Browns Beach on the Yorke Peninsula in March 2021 after either slipping or jumping into the water to help fellow students.

A SafeWork SA investigation revealed on Thursday that the school had not provided students with life jackets or non-slip shoes, with the supervising teacher also lacking health and safety training.

In sentencing, Judge Miles Crawley said the risk of serious injury or death should have been obvious to the school, which had previously pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation.

The South Australian Employment Tribunal imposed an initial fine of $700,000 for the breaches, which was later reduced to $420,000 due to an early guilty plea. A victims of crime levy of $405 was also ordered.

The tribunal was told previously of the beloved teen’s last words to his mother, whom he had kissed goodbye before heading on the trip, saying: “I will see you in two days, don’t miss me”, the Daily Mail UK reported.

In a victim impact statement tendered to the court, the teen’s mother said: “Just remembering that day makes my heart break into pieces.

“I never thought my son’s day would be before mine, that I would be the one saying goodbye to him for ever.

“Talking about a piece of my heart, my son Ahmad, the light and smile of our house.

“It was the worst day of my life, the day I’ve lost a piece of my heart.”

The DailyMail reported that Ahmad had just turned 16 and was excited at the prospect of getting his driver’s licence, finishing high school and going on to study at university.

In his written judgment, Judge Crawley said the rock fishing – widely considered a dangerous pastime – was one of the activities selected by students, which also included camping.

But the tribunal was told the school had not completed a risk assessment on rock fishing ahead of the field trip, neither was it included on the permission slip signed by parents ahead of time.

Judge Crawley said in his judgment that when the students arrived in the national park, the first thing they did was grab their fishing rods and find a rock outcrop to begin fishing.

“While there, one of the students lost his balance, slipped and fell into the sea,” Judge Miles said.

“Ahmad and another student either slipped or jumped into the sea in an effort to rescue him.”

While the other two boys were able to get out of the water, Ahmad was not.

His body was located the following day.

‘”There could easily have been a triple fatality,“ Judge Crawley said.

“Even as it was, the victims of this tragedy extend to Ahmad‘s family, his classmates, the whole school, and the school community.”

Judge Crawley said he accepted the school’s remorse and contrition, with a tribute to Ahmad erected at the college campus.

SafeWork SA executive director Glenn Farrell said Ahmad’s death was a tragic and unnecessary loss.

“Students are vulnerable as they are still developing and learning to assess risks around them and protect themselves,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of schools to adequately assess risks and minimise students’ exposure to those risks by having robust controls in place.”

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