Toddler drowns after wriggling free from harness on boat as parents cooked

30 July 2023 , 08:31

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Māhina Toki was 13 months old when she wriggled free of the harness attaching her to her family's yacht and fell into the ocean while docked at a harbour in Fiji (Image: givealittle)

A "beautiful and smiling" 13-month-old tot has died after drowning when she wriggled free of the harness attaching her to her family's boat and jumping in the sea off Fiji.

Māhina Toki was a little over a year old when she fell from the family's catamaran, which was docked in Musket Cove on Fiji's western coast on Friday. Her parents Mark and Kiri believed Māhina was strapped into a harness while she was watching a movie. The couple, who were cooking dinner in the galley, then returned but couldn't see their child anywhere.

After scrambling to try find her, they saw their toddler's dead body floating in the sea. Though they tried to revive her, their efforts were unsuccessful. The New Zealand family had arrived at Musket Cove in a 32ft catamaran after setting sail from their home on Great Barrier Island. A fundraising page set up for repatriation flights and funeral costs, which has already raised $17000 NZD (£8,157), said that the little one "worked free of her tether" and that "by the time we [her parents] could find her, it was too late", a family friend wrote.

Due to being docked, there were a large number of people around at the time of the tragedy, including doctors and other medics. They all rushed to the boat in a desperate attempt to assist the family.

“Māhina was a beautiful, happy, smiling child who loved the water and life on the boat,” a family friend wrote. "Her mother, Kiri, said she had eyes that looked into your soul from the [day] she was born.” Her parents are now doing their best to "pick up their lives" and heading home.

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“To the beloved Māhina, may you forever live in peace, splashing with joy somewhere in the sea,” the page, on New Zealand's "Givealittle" platform, said.

Joe Mar, the manager of Musket Cove Resort, says the tragedy has left the island community in a state of shock. “The family rushed into shore to seek help and a lot of people rushed to their aid, but unfortunately couldn’t revive her,” he said.

The owner of Island Cruising NZ, Viki Moore, said a number of her tour guests were part of the revival effort who rushed to the family's aid, and added that it's common practice for children and adults alike to be tethered while on a boat.

“I don’t know what happened in this case, but it is very sad,” Moore said.

Ryan Fahey