Members of a Hamilton golf club overlooking a bridge where a 22-year-old Auckland man drowned have expected a tragedy there for years.
The man failed to resurface yesterday after jumping from the Airport Rd bridge over the Waikato River during a lunchtime break from the Parachute Christian music festival at nearby Mystery Creek. His body was recovered by a police dive squad just before 8pm.
He is yet to be named. Narrows Golf Club captain John Bridle said up to 50 people a day jumped from the bridge and were often moved on by members. Spectators watched people jump from the bridge's southern side and cheered as they emerged on the other side.
"We've rung the police - we've told kids to get lost. Nothing seems to work. Some days it's just so scary.
People have pulled up and stopped on the bridge to tell the kids not to jump. You hear the brakes of vehicles behind them and you just know one day something terrible is going to happen," Mr Bridle said. Club members often moved to the other side of the clubhouse rather than watch people jump.
Up to 40 people jumped from the bridge on Saturday. Parachute's Sunday Super Service ground to a halt when organisers told 27,500 festival-goers the man's body had been recovered from the river. Swimming in the river is not allowed under festival rules.
Paul de Jong, pastor at Christian Life Centre in Auckland and brother of festival chief executive Mark de Jong, said friends who had been with the man when he failed to resurface were comforted before returning to Auckland. Mr de Jong led a short prayer before Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Worship Team continued the service. Later that night the crowd rocked to America worship band Third Day, but the mood was dampened when the heavens opened shortly before midnight when Dave Dobbyn took to the stage.
The festival was also halted for a few minutes yesterday morning when power was cut at the Mystery Creek site, interrupting the Parachute Band's morning meeting. Despite the record numbers attending the 16th festival, Sergeant Gordon Grantham, of Cambridge police, said the crowd had been the best behaved yet. One person was sent home on Friday, having arrived drunk, and about six festival-goers were refused entry because they were carrying alcohol.
Parachute is alcohol and drug-free.
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