Spa Death 'Preventable'

The tragic drowning of a girl, who became attached to a filter drain at the bottom of a spa, was "preventable", a coroner has found.

NSW Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon has made four recommendations including that a ban be placed on installing active main filter drains on the floor of spa pools.

Shannon Rankin, 11, drowned in March 2006, after playing with a friend in the spa at the Sevan Apartments in Forster on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Delivering his inquest findings at Glebe Coroner's Court today, Coroner MacMahon said the cause of Shannon's death was drowning occurring after she became entrapped on the cover of the main drain of the spa pool.

"Her death was a tragedy for her family and friends, a tragedy magnified by the fact it was avoidable."

Shannon became trapped because of the significant pressure that resulted from a blockage in the main drains, which occurred during "the process of the pebble-creting of the wall and floor of the spa pool during its construction", he said.

The coroner recommended that the public be informed as to the potential dangers associated with active main filter drains being on the floor of spa pools.

Coroner MacMahon also recommended that an independent expert be required to check newly constructed pools and spas to ensure they comply with statutory and other building requirements.
AAP