A rope from which a student fell to her death near Woodville in Manawatu in March was too long and not secured properly, a court was told today.
Massey University student Catherine Peters, 18, from Christchurch, died in hospital after falling over 20m from a rope swing off the Ballance bridge on March 7.
She was taking part in an organised group outing supervised by Crag Adventures.
Director Alistair McWhannell, 47, who was in charge of securing the rope, faces a manslaughter charge over the incident.
At a depositions hearing in Palmerston North District Court today, the Crown said McWhannell, who had overseen 80 jumps from the bridge, failed to take proper care with Ms Peters' second jump, Radio New Zealand reported.
The rope was allegedly too long and not tied off properly.
Ms Peters was in a group of about 100 on a course organised by the university's alpine club and run by Crag Adventures.
The hearing is due to run all week.
