Widow sues Whitsunday Regional Council over Airlie Beach Lagoon drownings

A widow whose husband and son drowned in Airlie Beach’s lagoon attraction in October 2018 is taking legal action against the Whitsunday Regional Council and its lifeguarding contractor, seeking $4.5 million in damages.

Yuanwei Zhang and his son Chenxi, neither of whom could swim, drowned together in the lagoon’s deeper water area.

Zhang's widow Jie Tan is now suing the Council and lifeguard service contractor Ellmill Enterprise Pty Ltd claiming that they failed in their duty of care - citing negligence as causing the deaths.

Documents lodged with the Court in Mackay last month, claim lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident failed to keep a proper lookout, were talking with each other, were distracted and failed to retrieve the father when he encountered difficulty.

The document states “at about 3.40pm the deceased began to experience difficulties and flounder in the water before disappearing below the surface, whereupon Chenxi too disappeared below the surface.

"The lifeguards were standing together on the bridge a distance of less than 20 metres from where the events took place."

Reports have suggested it was six minutes before Zhang was retrieved from the bottom of the lagoon and a further seven minutes before the child was pulled to the surface.

Neither could be revived.

The Court documents go on to state that Ellmill Enterprise was required “to ensure a minimum of two lifeguards were based at the lagoon and actively patrolled around the lagoon.

"And that watchtowers in place were manned at all times or the water areas monitored to ensure all areas were supervised adequately."

"The second defendant failed to put in place and to enforce a system of observation of users so that reasonable care was taken for the safety of those persons.”

Zhang was a senior pilot with Chongqing Airlines whose income supported his parents, as well as his immediate family.

Littles Lawyers are claiming damages of more than 20 million yuan - about $4.5 million -  to cover Zhang’s past and future lost earnings due to his death, past and future superannuation losses, financial loss for his parents and special damages.

The ABC has reported that Ellmill Enterprise no longer provides lifeguard services at the lagoon after its contract expired last year.

In November last year, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (Worksafe Queensland) charged the Council over the matter, claiming that it had failed to comply with its primary duty of care under the Queensland Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

That case is currently adjourned.

In 2018, the family of a man who drowned at the WaterMarc facility in Melbourne’s northern suburbs were reported to have launched legal action against Banyule City Council and facility operator Belgravia Leisure, alleging that the pool was not supervised appropriately.

Australasian Leisure Management understands the legal action was not successful.

Images: Yuanwei Zhang, Jie Ta and their son Chenxi before the 2018 tragedy (top, supplied) and Airlie Beach Lagoon (below, credit: Whitsunday Regional Council).