One of the last things the ill-fated schoolboy caving expedition saw before entering Abbey Caves on Tuesday was a large sign warning of the perils of “rapidly” forming flood water.

One boy tragically died yesterday morning on the trip by 15 students and two teachers from Whangārei Boys’ High School.

The mother of another student has also spoken of how her son also thought he would die as the water rose from waist to neck height in minutes.

The trip went ahead despite the region being under an orange heavy rain warning; a state where MetService says “people need to be prepared and take action as appropriate as there could be some disruption to their day and potential risk to people, animals and property”.

Yesterday, that included a forecast 90mm of rain. One parent said it had been an “absolutely insane” decision for the trip into the caves to go ahead.

The large sign near the caves features a map of the area, the cave history and, under the heading “Quick facts”, outlines flooding risks.

Abbey Caves is a popular caving destination in Whangarei.

“The caves can fill with water to more than waist deep on an adult,” it reads.

“Always check the previous week’s rainfall and current weather forecast before entering.

 “The Ivy Cave is particularly prone to flooding and caves can fill with water quite rapidly.”

The warning of the perils of visiting after heavy rainfall also features on a page on the Whangārei District Council’s website about Abbey Caves.

Emergency services at Abbey Caves in Whangārei on Tuesday morning as they responded to the missing boy. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Under the heading “What to expect”, one of seven things visitors are urged to consider and watch out for is: “Check weather forecast as caves can be prone to flash flooding”.

Northland – including in and around Whangārei - had been lashed by heavy rain and thunderstorms in the day leading up to yesterday’s tragedy.

On Monday, at 10.52am, MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Northland, lasting until 5pm Tuesday.

A MetService video released at 1.24pm on Monday showed rain forecast for that afternoon, evening and into Tuesday.

A press release less than an hour earlier warned of “an intense period of rain and thunderstorms”, which was expected to “move quickly” across the country and “affecting already sodden western and northern areas of both islands”.

“This very heavy rain will be falling on already-saturated ground, so impacts such as surface flooding, rising rivers and slips are likely,” MetService meteorologist Jessie Owen said.

And late last week a heavy rain warning was in place for Northland.

On Thursday, MetService said Northland was one of the regions it warned a slow-moving front would “deliver significant amounts of rain” too.

The family of a student whose body was recovered from Abbey Caves has publicly thanked everyone who helped in the search. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Data released to the Herald from MetService today showed that in the days leading up to the tragedy hourly rainfall in the area was as high as 30mm.

On Tuesday morning, as the tragedy unfolded, 23mm fell between midnight and lunchtime.

On Tuesday night, the body of the Year 11 student was recovered.

Family thank those who recovered the schoolboy’s body

A family member shared a message of thanks on a Facebook group yesterday.

“On behalf of the whānau, we cannot express how grateful we are to all those who were involved in helping us find and bring our baby boy back to us.

“Police, fire crew, search and rescue, medical crew and so much more.

“We all felt so supported and cared for throughout the entire process.

“Your tireless efforts and aroha will be with us forever.”

WorkSafe has launched an investigation into the tragedy. It would not comment further while that was under way.

The students and two teachers were in the cave complex around 10.30am - as heavy rain hit the area – when tragedy struck.

This morning, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis visited the scene.

He said the dead boy’s family needed all the love and support they could get from the community.

Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis was at the Abbey Caves this morning and offered his condolences to the grieving family. Photo / Michael Cunningham

“We need to be thinking about the other young people from the school - his friends, but also the staff as well,” Davis told reporters.

“Everybody is really feeling for this and everyone is reeling, but the most important thing to do right now is to have care, compassion and love for those people who are affected, especially the family.

‘Full and comprehensive’ investigation

“There will be a time for questions and those questions need to be answered, and I’m sure the school won’t shy away from participating as fully as possible, but right now, we really do need to focus on just helping and supporting people.”

He said the Ministry of Education’s trauma team would be at the school today as a lot of people needed support.

“There will be a lot of emotion, in particular anger as well as sadness. We’ve made the offer to be there if the school would like us to be there; they want to do things in their own way.

“It’s most important that they find their ways to recover, and I totally appreciate that they don’t want a politician there. I totally get that. But when they do want us to be there, we will be there.”

Yesterday afternoon, before the boy’s body was recovered, Whangārei Boys’ High School principal Karen Gilbert-Smith said a “full and comprehensive” investigation would take place.

“But for now I have asked the WBHS community to stay united and provide support where required,” she said.

Gilbert-Smith said the current focus was on supporting whānau, staff and students involved as well as the wider school community with help from iwi and other agencies.

The Ministry of Education’s traumatic incident team is supporting the school, and family liaison officers and Victim Support have put measures in place to assist the student’s whānau.