Noa Samrud-Sage,20,had been with his two housemates and four other friends who were visiting from Sweden on the afternoon of January 18,when the group decided to climb down to the rock pools at Blue Fish Point.
Noa Samrud-Sage,20,died when he fell from a cliff at Manly in January.Nine News
On Thursday,the NSW Coroners Court heard the track to get down to the pools required trekking through bushland for about one kilometre,then climbing down a cliff face using a rope.
Sergeant Durand Welsh,advocate assisting the coroner,said some in the group swam for about half an hour before the friends began climbing back up the cliff about 5.30pm. Some held onto the rope,but Samrud-Sage climbed unassisted.
He slipped,hitting his head on a landing about 1.5 metres below,and appeared to lose consciousness instantly. Momentum caused him to fall a further five metres to the base of the cliff,which was partially covered with water.
His friends immediately called triple zero and attempted to climb down to help him,but he was swept out to sea. He was visible for a short period of time before he disappeared in the water.
Welsh said one of Samrud-Sage’s friends saw him grab onto a fingerhold while climbing the cliff but it broke,causing him to fall.
A large-scale search was launched,which lasted for days and was temporarily suspended due to a shark sighting. The only trace found was a torn piece of white T-shirt that appeared to match the chest pocket of the shirt Samrud-Sage was wearing.
Welsh said the shirt was ripped in a way “police believed could be suggestive of a shark’s teeth marks”.
Police contacted the Department of Primary Industries and consulted shark experts,who said the marks and tears on the shirt were consistent with shark teeth,but they were not able to determine the species or whether the shark interaction was before or after death.
The officer in charge of the investigation,Constable Kendall Desbrow from Northern Beaches police area command,said the waves in the area that day were “quite large” and it was “very windy,so there was a lot of water moving on the day”.
She said she conducted a signs-of-life check with all states and territories and did not receive any indication that Samrud-Sage was still alive.
Samrud-Sage’s father Oliver said his son – who is “very much missed” – loved life in Manly and had been following in the footsteps of his mother,who backpacked around Australia in the 1980s.
“He was very excited to be spending this gap couple of years in Australia,enjoying I would say the lifestyle there,” he said. “He was very active and healthy,very social. His friends would all take the priority.”
Oliver said he talked to his son on January 17 and had “a good chat”. He said it was important for his family to have closure on the disappearance.
“He’s been missed from many parts of the world,from many people,” he said.
Deputy State Coroner Erin Kennedy said she was touched by the tribute to the young man,and took a break before returning to court. She said she could tell from the brief of evidence that Samrud-Sage “had a very adventurous spirit and was well-loved”.
She extended her sincere condolences to the family,and said the Coroners Court and police worked quickly because “everyone wanted a resolution for you”.
“It’s so sad for you that he couldn’t actually be found,” she said. “The search was so thorough;finding that pocket in the ocean was extraordinary.”
She found that Samrud-Sage died due to misadventure,but was unable to make a finding on his cause of death despite the “excellent evidence” of the pocket.
“When he fell,really,it was a catastrophic fall,” Kennedy said. “I cannot in the circumstances be sure of what,in fact,caused his death,but I can absolutely find that he is now deceased.”
She said Samrud-Sage’s “poor friends” were “helpless given the harsh conditions of the day” even though they “did their very best,immediately,to help him”.
“It could have been anyone’s child,it was just an accident,” she said. “It was made worse,of course,because he was so young.”
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