Police apologise for three-day delay keeping mother from Zane Mellor's body
Tasmania Police apologised to Georgie Burt for a three-day delay. She could not see her 12-year-old son Zane right away after the 2021 tragedy.
Six children died at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021. A wind gust lifted a jumping castle into the air.
Zane Mellor was one victim. Georgie Burt is his mother.
She was told he had been taken to hospital, but this was wrong. She could not reach him.
Georgie Burt was not allowed to see his body for three days. Families of other victims spent time on the school oval right away.
Police assistant commissioner Adrian Bodnar spoke at the inquest on Friday. He said the delay was wrong.
He apologised on behalf of Tasmania Police for the delay. Zane was at first misidentified by a teacher.
His injuries made this harder. Problems identifying the children led to poor communication with parents.
- six
- Children killed
- December 16, 2021
- Date
- 12 years old
- Zane's age
- three
- Days delayed
Why it mattersAn inquest looks at what went wrong after a tragedy. Accountability and lessons learned help emergency services handle future crises better.
AustraliaA major failure in Tasmania's emergency response to a mass casualty event; findings may affect how schools and police handle such incidents across Australia.
Corroborated bythenightly.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 16 h ago
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