A Greek tourist who witnessed his mother die during a horrific kayaking accident in Cairns, has relived the traumatic event on the final day of a coronial inquest into her death. According to reports on Cairns.com.au

Demitris Hatzidimitriadis watched as his mother, Georgina Hatzidimitriadis, 50, and his cousin Dimitrios Eremeidis, who were in a two-person kayak, drifted into trouble on July 30, 2008. In Cairns Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, Mr Hatzidimitriadis said the family did not know they would be split up, instead of riding together in a larger white water raft, until they reached the river bank.

“Originally, we thought we were going to be in a big boat, not the double kayaks,” he told the court via telephone link from Greece. “I was a bit concerned when I saw it would be double kayaks because I knew it would be difficult for my mum.”

Mr Hatzidimitriadis said his mother’s English was competent, and she was translating for nephew Dimitrios Eremeidis who was sitting at the back of the kayak during the tour with Cairns company Foaming Fury. He said he did not know his mother and cousin were in trouble until he heard a river guide “screaming” instructions to Mr Eremeidis to paddle forward instead of backward after they drifted into a dangerous area.

Former Babinda police officer Sen-Sgt Kevin Mathieson told the court witnesses reported Mr Eremeidis became confused after the pair’s two-person kayak drifted off course and he began paddling the wrong way. The court was told trip leader Dean Priest yelled instructions to Mr Eremeidis, but he continued to paddle backward while Mrs Hatzidimitriadis paddled forward, inhibiting the kayak’s ability to move away from the current.

“Things were happening too quickly for mum to explain (the instructions to Mr Eremeidis in Greek),” Mr Hatzidimitriadis said, adding that the tour guide was too far away from Mrs Hatzidimitriadis’ kayak to pull her and her nephew to safety. After the kayak capsized, Mrs Hatzidimitriadis was pinned to a rock underwater for seven to eight minutes and died, despite resuscitation attempts after her body was pulled from the water.

Sen-Sgt Mathieson said paramedics were sent to the wrong section of the river after a “mix-up” with Foaming Fury, but he did not think it contributed to Mrs Hatzidimitriadis’ death. He said he was more concerned there was no procedure to check tourists’ understanding of instructions given during demonstrations. Foaming Fury general manager Alan Carrette told the court the company now had a more rigorous way of assessing tourists’ command of the English language

The inquest into Mrs Hatzidimitriadis’ drowning started on Monday and was the second of four to be held examining the deaths of five people on white water rafting tours in the region between July 2007 and February 2009. A fourth joint-inquest will be held later this year delving into the wider issue of white water rafting standards and regulation.